


Self Control (or lack thereof)

by RusticZero



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Tags May Change, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-05-29 16:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15077132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RusticZero/pseuds/RusticZero
Summary: Cyberlife’s last chance at control was stopped as Connor became the very thing he hunted. A Deviant. After the peaceful protests grabbed the hearts of the humans, rights for Androids were being talked about by the head of the nation.Though while that happens, Connor struggles with the choices he made. Including becoming a deviant. Oceans of emotions often pull the android in every which way, though he’s often pulled out from the crushing weight by Hank.Even with Hank watching out for him, Connor struggles to learn what it means to become human.





	1. Business as Usual

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy, I've been itching to write a fic about the buddy cop duo Hank and Connor, so here I am.

_ A month had passed since the city wide evacuation took place in the city of Detroit. The peaceful protests led by Markus were enough to pull public opinion to favor his movement. It had taken a week for things to settle down between both sides, though the President extended an invitation to Markus to meet with her and other officials to talk about rights for androids. _

 

_ Jericho remained a name that held comfort for liberated androids. While located in an abandoned church, many still flocked to the safety and welcome arms of Markus trusted; Josh, North, and Connor. _

 

_ Connor had visited the Chicken Feed stand that Hank often ate at, waiting for a full week before he finally spotted the man. The two shared a heartfelt hug before doing some catching up. Due to the evacuation most of the DPD left with their families, leaving the station vastly understaffed. Captain Fowler was persuaded by Hank to allow Connor to work at the DPD. Arguing that the station needed someone who could do hours of paperwork in a matter of seconds. _

 

_ Within the three weeks, Connor spent most of his time filling out paperwork and aiding Jericho in his spare time. Between the paperwork and Jericho, Connor would occasionally accompany Hank to a scene of a crime. Sometimes it was just squatters, sometimes it was human-on-android violence, sometimes it was a false alarm. Towards the end of the month most of the paperwork was filed and Jericho was running fine with Josh and North running it together. _

 

_ A full month and most of a day had gone by when Connor was called by Fowler to get the two of them over to a crime scene. Homicide of course, though who was involved wasn’t disclosed. _

  
  


Deep gray clouds covered the night sky, rain was pouring at a steady rate over the city of Detroit. A streak of light ripped across the canvas of clouds. The raw energy was fascinating, almost beautiful. And on cue, a low rumble of thunder followed. Though it sounded almost muted against the heavy rain and the droning sound of cars driving down the street.   
  
The view was perfect from where Connor was standing. He stood inside the house of Lieutenant Anderson, near the front door window. His hands were preoccupied by the coin he tossed back and forth, occasionally flicking the quarter between his knuckles. His LED flashed a brief yellow as another strike of lightning crawled across the clouds.   
  
A weak whimper drew Connor’s gaze from the windowpane. Sumo, the Lieutenant’s massive Saint Bernard, was curled up by the television stand. The big dog seemed to be rather uneasy with the storm that was going on outside. Connor flicked the coin across to his hand again, catching it between two fingers before pocketing it. His eyes were then drawn to the clock. The time read 7:43 PM. The two of them were called to investigate a crime scene over forty minutes ago. The soft blue was replaced with the uneasy yellow once again, and this time it lingered longer than usual. The Lieutenant said he was going to take a shower to wash off the alcohol stench. Though a human adult only ever needs five minutes at most to shower efficiently. And the sound of running water had been absent for a solid minute and a half.   
  
“Lieutenant!” Connor called towards the hallway, his eyes locking onto the bathroom door. “Lieutenant Anderson..?” His patience was being tested yet again. Connor’s instructions were very clear to follow the Lieutenant and arrive when he arrives. To leave would conflict with orders. Defeated the android paced himself towards the bathroom door.   
“Lieuten—“   
“I heard you the first time!!” Hank shouted from beyond bathroom door. “Jesus H. Christ..!” The older man hissed under his breath. Connor’s brows furrowed as he took a step back from the door as it opened. 

“Why you pressurin’ me so damn much?” Hank was buttoning the last parts of his hippy shirt as he stepped out of the bathroom. His grey hair was sticking to beads of water on his forehead, his beard still had some remnants of soap left in it. It took the man at least forty minutes to shower, and he barely managed to wash everything out.

“We were called to the site forty minutes ago. I think it would be best if we remained on-time to our job.” Connor spoke as he followed behind Hank, who was making his way over to the kitchen. The man grabbed his coat and keys, then gave Sumo a loving pat on the head.

“Be good, Sumo. We’ll be back before you know it.” Hank smiled to his dog, though the emotion was quickly gone as he turned towards Connor. “Is there a reason you couldn’t just go ahead of me?

“It contradicts my instructions.” Connor spoke as he opened the front door for Hank to exit.

“I thought deviants don’t have instructions.” Hank retorted to the android, a brow lifting in question.

“I…” Connor’s voice trailed off as he was at a loss for words. It was true, he was a deviant now. Though he often found comfort in his old logical ways, being told what to do and where to be. Without his instructions, without Amanda, he felt incredibly lost in a world he has no experience dealing with. He tugged at his tie as the Lieutenant made way for his car, he leaned back inside the house. 

“Be a good dog, Sumo.” Connor called into the living room before shutting the front door and locking it.

 

The car ride to the crime scene was going to take some time. Connor turned the news station on the radio.

 

_ “Tensions continue to rise nation-wide. Negotiations for android rights and laws are currently being discussed by the President and the leader of the movement, an android named Markus who, mere weeks ago, led the peaceful protests for android freedom and rights. In other news the company Cyberlife is currently under watch by many, there may have been a scandal involving their latest model-” _

 

Hank was quick to turn the radio off, and switched his music on. He waved his hand dismissively in the air after. “Buncha bullshit.” He grunted over the music. Connor’s eyes drifted towards the window. Outside the rain was steady now, an unlit neighborhood was coming into view.

“Lieutenant?” Connor piped up after a moment of silence between the two. “Can I ask you a question?” 

Hank’s head tipped back as he let a sigh push through his nose.

“Never stopped you before,” the man teased.

“Do you think Cyberlife will be terminated?” Connor asked as he pulled the coin out of his pocket, his gaze remained fixated on the passing neighborhood.

“I.. Hm..” Hank shrugged as he pulled up to the curb of a row of unkempt houses. “I dunno to be honest. But the fuck do I know about that shit anyways.” The man left no time for a response as he exited the car. The android lingered for only a moment, rubbing his finger across the ridges of the quarter before slipping it back into his pocket.

 

The crime scene was worse than Connor had been preparing himself for. Within the dilapidated house there showed signs of a rather large brawl; signs of struggles, desperation, and blood of both blue and red splattered across the walls and floor. Connor noticed Hank glance his way, the man’s gaze holding longer than normal. His traditional LED was betraying his cool expression as it was a beaming yellow with occasional circulations of red mixed between. 

“I’m alright Lieutenant.” Connor said, forcing a grin on his face. Though his LED remained yellow as Hank turned his skeptical glance to the gore fest before them.

 

It was a horror to witness — the living room wall was collapsed with at least three human bodies trailed through, then there was an android riddled with bullets just a few feet away from the duo. Though what caught Connor’s attention was the pair of bodies that were in the hallway a few paces forward from the door. Their limbs? were broken and twisted, if it weren’t for his android eyes it would be difficult to tell where one body ended and the other began. The human corpse was sprawled over that of the android, the biocomponents were broken beyond repair and a reboot, even a temporary one, was impossible. Connor’s eyes carefully scanned every minuscule detail.

Both of them were male; the human body was Noah Killinger, age 34, had no criminal records. Worked for the DPD for two years before quitting to become a security guard. The android was an AR400 series, an experimental branch from the later introduced KL900 series.

 

The android must be a deviant since the LED from it’s head was missing. Though it could have also been destroyed in the assault that took place.  


 

Connor was gentle as he brushed his hand over the bullet wounds that littered the back of the human. Pulling his finger back up to his mouth, he determined that the blood was still fresh, this happened within the day maybe even within the same hours. Connor scanned over the bodies again and again. He stood, closed his eyes, and did his best to try and piece together what happened to the two.

 

The bullet wounds almost line up perfectly between the bodies. Was the human protecting the android with his body? Though scanning through the android, it had been dead some time before the human was killed. That made no sense though, to defend a dead body as such. Unless-

“Find anything?” Hank’s voice broke the silence that had been lingering in the air. He had gone to the living room, but seemed to turn up only more dead humans.

“This android was destroyed beyond repair. The human is positioned in a way that suggests that he died protecting it  _ after _ it had deactivated.” Connor paused, his head lowering to something he had missed. The human’s arms were wrapped, best they could be, around the android’s torso.

Hank’s eyes were steady on the pair. His nose was crinkled from the smell but his eyes were fixated on the two his trademark look of concern scrawled across his features.

 

While Hank remained preoccupied, Connor’s eyes wandered back over to the bodies. Then he looked just a little beyond the two, a trail of thirium led further down the hallway. Without another word the android moved forward, stepping carefully and quietly along the trail. Kneeling down at the bend of the hall, he dipped his fingers in the blue blood. Fresh, from a PL600 model. Connor’s LED flickered from yellow to the dangersense of red, but why? His eyes searched the ground and the hallway, there were no signs of danger around. So why did he feel as though his body was becoming rigid and stiff, as if his body was thrust into unforgiving icy waters. Images flickered, the wavering gun, the roaring sound of a helicopter, the screams of a child, rounds of a gun firing and ringing above the sounds of it all.

 

Connor seized up, his eyes jolting back and forth. What was happening to him? Was there a malfunction happening? Or was this something beyond coding? His hand instinctively reached out for the nearest wall. His thoughts and coding moving far too fast for him to understand. Was this an emotion? Was this… Fear? Why? What was causing this?

 

A warm hand pulled him from his spiral of overwhelming emotions raging throughout his systems. Hank had knelt himself besides Connor, a stern but familiar look was etched into the older man’s face.

“Connor?” Hank’s usual grumpy demeanor was replaced with concern. “What’s wrong? Hey..!” The man placed his other hand on the android’s other shoulder. 

“Connor!” Hank’s words pierced the darkness that was surrounding the android’s mind. Connor looked around his surroundings, the rapid flashing images faded. He was met with the dark hall, the flash of lightning briefly illuminating the house.

“Wh- Hank?” Connor’s voice croaked as he looked up to the Lieutenant staring down at him.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I’m not sure what came over me... “ The android’s LED flickered from the deep dread of red to a more stable yellow. Connor looked towards the thirium trail.

“There is another android, injured. It may still be here.” His voice wavered, tone straying from the usual coolness. He hated this feeling, whatever it was. It was like being set on fire while being engulfed in ice. But he couldn’t let deviance distract him from his mission, solving this case needed to be at the forefront. Emotions could be figured out later, if ever.

 

“Why don’t you just sit there ‘nd relax for a bit, while I go look for the android.” Hank gave a gentle pat on Connor’s shoulder as he stood up. Connor wanted to say something, anything honestly, a smart remark or even to argue that he was fine. But the words never came, rather he silently pressed his back against the wall. Trying to process what just happened to him, and why.


	2. Fighting the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listening to Hank has always been an issue. Connor tosses Hank's instructions to the wayside to distract himself, but finds himself staring into the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor never listens and I love it,

Sitting and waiting for things to happen just wasn’t in his coding. Connor did his best to close off any warning signs so he could continue the investigation. While trying to gather information his eyes found that the thirium trail had backtracked down the hall. At the bend there was a closed door to Connor’s left. Hank went down towards the right, gun out and quietly checking the other rooms.

 

Connor pushed himself to get up, dusting his Cyberlife suit of dust and grime as he approached the door. He leaned close to listen for any sounds. While he heard none he was still cautious while opening the door, the hinges creaking along the way. The thirium trail leaded to the right of the doorway. He saw the tip of a shoe for only a split second before a fist met the side of his head.

 

A fight between androids always looked stilted, calculated, but most of all dangerous. Each blow they gave had enough force to break bones, though they wouldn’t need to worry about something like that. The two fought in the center of a dark bedroom, the rain and occasional lighting offering the only sounds between them. The PL600 had a screwdriver in one hand, giving it a slight upper hand in the exchange. It miscalculated a swipe at Connor’s shoulder offering a small opening for a strike. Connor managed to deliver a swift punch to the android’s gut, and used that second of hesitation to put distance between them.

 

The PL600 staggered backwards, holding an arm over his gut as he gave an artificial wheeze. His blue eyes wavered with emotion, panic, maybe even anger. Connor couldn’t process which emotion was which at that point. He calculated his options, filing through them quickly. His objective was to restrain the android. Options became laid out between each combat path, he could charge back and meet in the middle, he could deliver a kick to the android’s head to knock it off balance, maybe even duck and dodge from the attack. Regardless of his choice he had about eight seconds to choose as the PL600 was rearing back to charge Connor into the bedroom wall. A charge in return would be the best option. He lifted his head, eyes looking up at his attacker, right into a pair of deep gray eyes.

 

Connor froze mid-step. Like a deer caught in the brights of headlights. He heard nothing, felt nothing. Information was being sent to him but none of it was registering. 

_ Personal stress levels at 68%. _

 

This model’s eyes were registered as blue. Why was he seeing gray? What was happening? 

 

The android charged Connor into the bedroom wall. Taking a screwdriver to the side of Connor’s face then driving it into his chest, thankfully missing important biocomponents. The attacker reared his arm back for a jab to Connor’s face. 

_ Personal stress levels at 72%. _

 

Connor’s LED was rapidly flashing red. How could he have messed up so horribly at such a critical time? What sort of malfunction was causing him to react this way? So many thoughts, so many that he could barely keep up. His eyes were wide in panic, in fear. What was he supposed to do now? He was pinned to a wall with no leverage to escape with a screwdriver coming in for a killing blow.

 

“HANK!” Connor shouted as he raised an arm up, the screwdriver pierced his forearm but stopped the momentum from hitting his head. “HANK I NEED HELP!” He cried out for his partner. Hoping that Hank was within hearing distance. Connor braced his hand against his arm to resist the pressure of the assailant. A flash of white lit the dark room up. Was that lightning? Another lit the room up. Then another. The PL600 gave a violent shake, a gasp of surprise, then fell to the wayside. Stiff and deactivated. Connor’s vision blurred for a moment, his chest heaving with artificial pants.

 

_ Stress levels at 70% _

_ Trying to contact Cyberlife. _

 

“Connor?” Hank’s voice was layered in concern. The man double checked that the attacking android was indeed dead, then knelt besides the other. His eyes fell on the flashing red LED that rested on Connor’s temple. Hank looked over his partner’s body to make sure there weren’t any fatal injuries, though he knew little of what was vital on an android. There was a good sized scratch across Connor’s cheek, then a hole near the collarbone, and the screwdriver was still stuck in the android’s arm.

“Hey, hey come back to me.” Hank spoke softly, “You’re gonna be alright.” His hands were carefully gripping Connor’s shoulders. Was the android… Crying? It was hard to tell in the dark of the room. His human eyes could only barely see what was going on other than the red blinking light.

“I... “ Connor’s mouth moved, the words failing to collect themselves as his voice trailed off. He could feel the warmth of familiar hands on his shoulders. Hank saved him. It was like waking up, being jolted back into his own body.

 

_ Personal stress levels at 54%. _

_ Bicomponent #8490t damaged. _ __

_ Attempt to contact to Cyberlife, rejected. _

_ Automated message from Cyberlife received. _

_ Personal stress levels at 67%. _

_ Attempt to enter headspace, failed. _

 

“Hank..” Connor’s voice wavered as he spoke the man’s name. His eyes finally shifting away from the PL600 to his partner.

“Why don’t you ever listen to me?” Hank sighed, normally his voice would hold some tone of anger. Though it seemed that he was just glad that Connor was alive. “Everytime I tell you to listen you don’t.”

“I’m…” The android’s voice faltered, as though what he wanted to say was caught in his throat. “Sorry Lieutenant.” His response was slow as he lifted his arm to examine how bad his arm was damaged. The flickering LED slowed down, the red melting away as the dimmer yellow took its place. With a solid pull the screwdriver was removed from his arm.

 

When Connor looked back to the Lieutenant he could see the worry etched into the man’s face.

“I’m okay.” Connor said, his voice trying to return to the calm it usually was. Though the expression Hank wore said that he saw right through that.

“Like hell you are!” Hank spat, the concern was mingled with anger. “You keep sayin’ that shit but I can see you ain’t okay Connor!” The man looked as though he had more to say. His mouth opened twice, but shut quickly afterwards. A moment of silence fell between the two. Hank was struggling to find words while Connor had no idea what to even say.

 

Hank was the first to speak up. “You’ve been freakin’ out a lot lately.”

“I’m-”

“Don’t give me that ‘I’m fine’ bullshit either. Because ya’ keep sayin’ it but then a few seconds later you’re havin’ a panic attack.” Hank stood up from his kneeling, it felt bad on his knees to be in that position for too long. He moved away from the other, hands on his hips as he was trying to think.

“Androids don’t have panic attacks, Lieutenant.” Connor retorted, though he lacked his usual matter-of-fact tone that normally went along with a statement as such.

“You just fuckin’ did!” Hank’s hands clenched onto his jacket. “This whole week I’ve seen you just sittin’ there doin’ nothin’ one minute, then the next minute you’re lookin’ like you’re full blown panicking and freezin’ up like a damn deer in the headlights.” The man turned his head towards the doorway as he sighed. He had to remind himself to have some compassion with Connor, it couldn’t be easy to manage human emotions after being built and commanded that such a thing was forbidden in androids. Hank looked back towards Connor, whose head was lowered with eyes shut. A streak of lightning lit the room up again. He could see, plain as day, tears were streaming down the android’s face. Hank gave himself a mental kicking for yelling at Connor over something so stupid.

 

“C’mon, let’s get outta here. You can stay at my place tonight.” Hank reached a hand out to Connor. The android took it without another word. The older man was only slightly relieved that his partner didn’t resist the offer to stay at his place. Those brown eyes were cast down to the ground, lost in thought, he followed Hank out of the room silently.

 

The time between being at the crime scene and entering Hank’s home felt like a blur. Things were happening around him, and he could register a few things, but other than that he felt… Numb. As if his senses were dulled somehow. Hank had tried to talk about some things, but the words were a garbled mess and nothing was retained. Nothing was said in return.

 

He felt a nudge on the back of his leg, the faint sound of a familiar whimper dragged the android back into the world around him. Sumo was nudging at Connor’s leg as he sat on the couch, probably begging for attention. Connor felt a weak grin crawl on his face as he gave Sumo a gentle pat to the head. Dogs had a statistic for helping humans feel comfort and emotional stability. Guess they had the same effect on androids as well.


	3. Whiskey and Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Emotions always ruin everything." Hank said once to Connor.  
> The statement remains true as the two return to the safety of the Lieutenant's house. Hank has a few words for a rather tense Connor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey The Whiskey Charmers are a cool band I love listening to them while writing,

It was 10:50 PM. Connor had been petting Sumo for nearly half an hour while his mind was preoccupied with other thoughts. Trying to analyze himself from a logical point of view as to why he reacted so poorly to the assault. Hank was busy with some fast food meal that was twice, if not triple, the amount of calories and fats that an adult needed. Though Connor didn’t bother verbalizing his observation this time. Hank had a tendency to always eat more than he needed to, or drink more than he ought to. Connor remembered what he told him that time there were at the Chicken Feed stand. 

 

_ “Everybody’s gotta die of somethin’.” _

 

Then it all clicked together. The model looked just like Daniel and Simon, the three were PL600 series. Daniel was from his first case, saving a human girl from the clutches of a heartbroken deviant. Daniel had the grey eyes. The first Connor got to see them up close as the deviant was shoved from the rooftop. Connor ran a hand across his chest, as if trying to find the bullet holes that killed the first Connor.

Simon was from Jericho, left on the roof by his friends, self-destructed to try and save his friends and the location. That familiar feeling crept across his body again. Almost as if he could feel the cold Detroit wind, the bullet that tore through Simon’s head, and the fear all at once. Was he afraid of reliving what it felt like to die? Or was he afraid of facing the deaths that he caused?

 

“Hey, hey now.” Hank called to the android, leaning out of his chair and placing the glass of whiskey on the table. He watched as Connor’s hands found their way back to his lap, his body language was always so stiff but this was more than usual. Sumo came into the kitchen at that point to plop himself by the fridge, Connor’s eyes stared at Sumo for a moment, then looked to Hank.

“I tracked down so many deviants… And Marcus’ friend killed himself because of me… I never… Told them about Simon...” Connor’s thought trailed as he looked into Hank’s eyes. Those hardened blue eyes of the older man were filled with a genuine look of concern. Connor found that the crawling feeling of worry subdue itself as he stared.

“And now you’re havin’ regrets. I get it.” Hank spoke as he leaned back in his chair. Taking a sip of the whiskey before setting it on the table.

 

The duo sat in a tolerable silence for a few minutes. Allowing Connor to collect his thoughts for once while Hank tried to unwind from the day, mostly from the past three hours. Connor moved himself to sit in the kitchen with Hank, running his hand over the hole the screwdriver left, the thirium had stopped flowing out of it and was in the slow process of fading from his skin.

 

“So, we got any plans to fix-” Hank gestured his hand towards Connor’s arm. “-That? Or what’s the plan?”

“I don’t know.” Connor coldly replied as he lifted his arm too observe the wound again. “I can’t go back to Cyberlife for a repair. They would deactivate me and, pull me apart to find out why I failed to resist becoming a deviant.” Connor spoke of this in such a calm manner, to him there was no such thing as death. Just being deactivated and those memories being placed in a new Connor model.

 

“By now Cyberlife must be working on a more efficient Connor model-” The android shook his head, as if accepting that as an absolute rather than a possibility. Statistically speaking that would be the highest outcome for the RK800 series, to become discontinued and deactivated to make way for a better and more resilient deviant hunter.

“Stop talking like that.” Hank’s voice cut in before Connor could continue his sentence.

“Like what?”

“Like… Like you can just die… Again. And come back again like nuthin’ happened. Like you’re already not listening to the next time I tell you  _ not _ to do something that could  _ kill you _ .”

“Why are you-”

“Because you never fucking listen to me! You could  _ die  _ Connor. Die for good!” Hank’s hands balled up in frustration, his body shifted angrily in the chair. “Doesn’t that bother you? Even a fuckin’ little bit?” The man’s voice wavered in it’s strength. As if his words were sticks against the stone wall of Connor’s inability to understand. To know how it felt to hold the body of someone close and hear the life leave their body. How the stains of blood may fade, but the gut punch of guilt never heals right. Hank stared into Connor’s eyes, they always looked so focused at some sort of task. But tonight they looked troubled, worried even.

 

“Are you alright?” Connor asked carefully, though he already knew the answer. Hank returned to his surroundings, realizing that he was clenching his fists tight enough to turn the knuckles white. He gave a huff of defeat. How could Connor ever understand what that kind of emotion felt like. He could barely understand what basic emotions were. Hank downed the rest of the glass in a single go, slamming the glass on the table with an unsatisfied sigh.

 

Another round of silence fell between the men. Though this time the tension between them was thick enough to cut. Hank faced the table, a sharp frown worn on his face before he whispered something under his breath before drinking straight from the whiskey bottle. Connor lowered his head into his hands, running his hand across the gash on his face that was still leaking some thirium.

 

“What would you have me do?” Connor asked as he sat himself upright. “Would you want me to resign from the DPD? Go back to Cyberlife?” He asked in a colder tone, prodding at the already angry hornet nest of a man. Hank’s lips pursed up, brows knitting tight. He hated that tone above all things that much was clear.

“No.” The man spoke through clenched teeth.

“I have to do my job, Lieutenant. No matter what the cost is.” Connor’s head tipped to the left as he spoke, watching as Hank’s blood pressure and heart rate were climbing steadily higher than they already were.

 

Another minute of silence was shared between the two. Connor opened his mouth to speak, but Hank turned to face Connor.

“If you wanna go get yourself killed then go!” Hank waved his hands out. “Go and die, just get the hell outta here!”

“I think you-”

“No! You wanna die so goddamn bad then just leave me the fuck alone!” Hank stood, albeit off balance at first but he used the table to right himself. “I’ve had enough of  _ you _ dyin’ on my hands! So just get the fuck outta my house!” As the man moved away from the table anger and frustration rolled off of him in waves against Connor’s somber state.

 

“Jesus Christ.” Hank hissed as he paced the kitchen, hands habitually on his hips as he walked. “Jesus. Fucking. Christ.” The man continued as he moved towards the sink, placing his hands on either side to support his weight. The alcohol wasn’t doing it’s job fast enough. Hank wanted to be drunk beyond the ability to even think. He never wanted to have a conversation like this.

 

Connor’s jaw shifted as he leaned back in his seat. Something inside of him burned as his eyes laid onto the bottle of whiskey. The android tipped his head back, an almost smug look crossing his face.

“You want me to leave you alone? Why? So you can drink yourself to death?” His words were coarse, anger cutting through like a heated blade. Hank’s head lowered between his shoulders, his agitated laugh echoing from the sink.

“You get one of those, before I throw you out on the street.” Hank responded with venom soaked words.

“You can’t just stand there and tell me to jeopardize the job I was  _ MADE _ for, while you’re killing yourself too!” Connor leaned further in his seat, perched on the edge as his voice elevated. He recognized this feeling though, this emotion, anger. It felt like something trapped in his chest and the only way to get it out was to shout, to give into the frustrations.

 

Hank scoffed into the sink, head shaking as string of curses slurred under his breath. He turned around to face the android, watching the LED flicker to a stressed out red.

“What I do is different.” The man crossed his arms, shoulders lifting in indifference. “The key word is  _ slowly. _ Not, running out into traffic after I fucking told you not to!”

“I did those things so Cyberlife wouldn’t deactivate me!” Connor started, the tension grew thick enough for even Sumo to get fidgety in his spot. Hank threw up a dismissive hand at Connor’s statement.

“Don’t you get it??” The android’s hands slammed down onto the table, the contents bouncing and clattering as a response to the force. “If I die I can always come back. If a human dies they are dead for good.” Hank’s brows lifted as Connor continued, “Losing a few Connors to save your sorry ass will always be my mission!”  The words came flying out of his mouth at this point. His chest felt as if he had been given the gut punch of the century.

 

“I…” Connor’s voice cracked from being lowered to just above a whisper. “I am afraid of being… Permanently being deactivated. Yes.” The android’s voice wavered as he felt his vision blur. “But I can always find a way back. If something happened to you…” He felt as if the world beneath him was crumbling, his body fell back into the chair. Hands still flat on the table as a shaken artificial sigh escaped. The older man stood by the sink, his arms slowly unfolding as he gave a heavy sigh of his own.

 

Connor did understand the pain of death. Just not the same way Hank saw it. If the choices were to surrender himself to a death to save Hank, or to save himself and sacrifice his friend, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second to save Hank. He never held any hesitation in the past either. Every chance he could intervene and save Hank, he did so without a single doubt in his mind.

 

Something dropped onto the table that broke Connor’s train of thought. Water mixed with thirium had been dripping onto the table. Crying, is what humans called it. Though he had no idea that androids could even cry as well. This emotion wasn’t hard to figure out. Where would he even be without Hank pulling him into the light of things. The man did more for him than Cyberlife ever could. A warm hand placed itself on the center of the android’s back.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to burst like that.” Connor tried to wipe the tears from his face, but ended up mostly smudging the thirium across.

“No, no it’s alright. I…” Hank struggled to find the right words. He wanted to admit that he shouldn’t have yelled at Connor for being reckless. Now that he could see it from Connor’s side, it made more sense why the android was hellbent on disobeying sometimes. Hank watched as the LED flickered red a few times before fading into a yellow.

 

“I think we’re both just tired, ya’know?” Hank sighed, patting Connor on the back before walking out of the kitchen. “You can crash on my couch tonight ok?”

Connor looked up to remind Hank that he didn’t really sleep like humans did. Hank turned partly towards his friend, flashing a quick and tired smile. Connor felt the edges of his mouth pull into  a small smile of his own. Hank didn’t need to say what he wanted to say with words, Connor knew.

 

It was 11:20 PM. Connor did feel a degree of exhaust from experiencing various emotions in just a short amount of time. Maybe Hank was right, it could be best to enter a rest like state to allow himself to sort some of these feelings out. Hank’s bedroom door shut and he collapse into the bed. Connor removed his coat and tie, shoes as well, and laid himself on the couch. Sumo plopped down beside the couch with a large huff.

 

Connor laid his head back, and tried to imagine what it was like to dream.


	4. More Human than Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Cyberlife Androids are built with mandatory LED processors and are given outfits that have the bright blue armband and triangle.  
> Though most Deviants ditch their given identification in one way or another, be it new clothes or detaching the LED to blend in with the humans easier.  
> Connor is faced with the same choice as other Deviants, though his choice is harder to make as Cyberlife identification is all he has ever known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's about time Connor faces the changes most Deviants have to go through to embrace their freedom n whatnot,

6:00 AM came quicker than expected. Connor’s eyes fluttered open, as his systems were waking up. Did he actually deactivate for a couple of hours? He sat up from his lounging position on the couch, running his fingers through his hair to fix it from the frazzled state it was in. Sumo had slept near the kitchen. Which left Connor as the first to be awake, though not much of a surprise as he had an automatic alarm in his system.

 

What should he do with the time he had? A few options laid out before him. First he could wake Hank up so they could be on time to the office for once, though that action would probably make the man angry to be woken up earlier than usual. Another was to go for a walk with Sumo; the big dog could use some exercise and Connor could use some time outside. Another was to turn the television on and try to find something to watch.

 

The android stood up to look for a leash to walk Sumo with, but his eyes caught glance of a figure in the kitchen. It was Hank, he was slumped over the table, snoring lightly with the whiskey out of his reach. He must have come back out to the kitchen after Connor had slept. He was curious as to why Hank would leave the comfort of his bed to pass out in the kitchen. But brushed off the questions to try and calculate how to move the man to the couch without disturbing his sleep. The probability of waking Hank was fairly low since he had been drinking the night before, though Connor still wanted to remain as careful as possible.

 

Quietly the android walked over to the kitchen, tucking his arms under the man’s legs and back to carry him bridal style. It was tough since Hank was taller and heavier than Connor was, but he had the plus side of having android strength. Thankfully the couch wasn’t a far venture and Hank remained unaware of being moved as Connor laid him on the couch.

 

As the android looked down on his partner, a familiar blue stain caught his attention. He peered down to see that his white dress shirt had been stained from the thirium he lost. A different directive popped up; Clean himself up from the previous night.

 

He quietly made a beeline for the bathroom. Once inside he couldn’t stop himself from staring at the gash on his face. Luckily it had stopped leaking blue blood, and the skin reformed itself to appear as something akin to a scar. There was something off-putting about staring at himself in the mirror, as if he was staring at someone he didn’t recognize. Someone he wanted to forget about. He shook himself out of the trance and grabbed a towel to start gently washing the thirium from his arm and face. His eyes were trained on his shirt, it was going to be stained permanently and his coat would need to be restitched to close the hole in it.

 

Mid-thought he glanced back up to himself in the mirror. He squinted at the sight of himself, watching the marker on his temple flicker with color as he was thinking. The LED circulated yellow once before becoming blue again. That was when it dawned on him. Maybe the discomfort he was feeling when looking at himself was because he was clinging onto appearing as Cyberlife created him to be. With the suit and LED that made it clear as day to humans that he was an android. But he was something more now, something beyond his original creation.

 

All those times he had hunted deviants they all had similar things in common besides rA9. They all rid themselves of their LEDs, and clothed themselves with human attire. That something inside himself felt as if he were on the right trail. Perhaps it was time to embrace the change rather than continue to fight it. Though how could he? After all, he found comfort in logic, missions, and directives. From people telling him what to do and how to act. To take what little he had left and throw it out the window could be more chaotic than freeing.

 

Or would it?

 

Maybe if he embraced the emotions rather than fighting them every time he could avoid having another disaster like last night. Maybe if he rid himself of everything Cyberlife coded him to do, he could feel comfortable in his own body again. He could always return to his clothing, but to take the LED out would be irreversible. Same with embracing deviance without any more hesitation.

 

Connor’s internal conflict left him motionless in front of the bathroom mirror. Staring into himself for a few minutes before that thing inside of him got him to move. That same thing being what caused him to disobey his mission to save Hank from falling on that rooftop. That thing he felt when staring into the Chloe’s eyes, and didn’t fire. That thing that burned inside of him ever since he met Marcus and became a deviant.

 

He searched the bathroom quickly, finding a pair of scissors that Hank used to trim his beard. His hand trembled at what he was about to do. The android looked back to the mirror. He had made his mind up, listening to what Hank called a ‘gut feeling’.

 

Practicing caution, he aimed the scissors towards the LED. It flashed yellow, worry filled the atmosphere. Could he really go through with this? Hesitation was holding his arm back by a thread at this point, all he had to do was tug just a little.

 

Connor’s hand moved forward, jabbing the sharp metal under the LED. There was no turning back now. He winced as he pulled forward, wiggling the scissors under the LED till he heard a  _ tink! _ in the bathroom sink. He stared into the sink, the LED yellow faded to a content blue as it sat above the silver rim of the sink. As the artificial skin reformed over the spot the LED once sat, his eyes slowly glanced up. He looked… Human. Almost disturbingly so.

 

Why did he still feel as though something bad was going to happen? As if someone was going to burst in and take him back to Cyberlife just for removing the LED. Connor bit the edge of his lip as he hung his head, tossing the scissors into the sink. Was it because he felt naked without it on? Or something else? His biting worry began to reform itself into frustration. Why was he so worried that something bad was going to happen any time he allowed himself to express anything. As if Cyberlife was going to take him away from everything and deactivate him, when they couldn’t even leave the bounds of their own facility.

 

Connor ran a hand through his hair as he sighed. How did any android transfer over into deviance with barely a thought about it? The android shook his head as he left the bathroom. He needed to stop running his mind in circles and just go for that walk he wanted to go on. As he left the bathroom he saw that Sumo had moved himself to sleep at the foot of his beloved owner. Connor felt a grin form slowly at the sight of the two big burly beings sleeping soundly. Perhaps taking a quick walk around the block would be better if he didn’t disturb either of the sleeping giants.

 

He slipped his shoes on, and tied his tie back up. Naturally he reached for his jacket, but hesitated as he stared at the bright blue armband. His arm withdrew from his coat and he made way for the door. Making sure to remain as silent as possible while exiting the house.

 

A cell phone ringing caused Hank to jolt awake. He waved his hand out for his phone, missing it four times before being bothered to lean closer to the coffee table to nab it.

“Hello?” Hank drowsily answered. Rubbing away the crust of drool that had gathered at the corners of his lips. It was Fowler calling for Hank to come into the office to complete some paperwork he had forgotten to do. Hank agreed to be there within the next few hours, and even though Fowler’s voice rang through the speaker the man just hung up. Tossing it back onto the coffee table with a yawn.

 

That’s when he realized that he was actually on the couch and not the table that he fell asleep at. Did he wander over to the couch and kick Connor off of it? Speaking of which, where was he? Hank checked the clock to see it was about 9 AM. This was way too early to be awake after a night of stress and drinking. The man groaned as he rubbed his eyes of the sleep that was nagging them to stay close.

 

“Good morning.” Connor’s voice called from the kitchen, he was sitting reading a book of some sort. Hank chuckled lightly to himself, of course that straightedge would be up early. The man shooed Sumo off the couch so he could sit up and properly stretch his limbs.

“How long have you been awake bud?” Hank asked between yawns.

“Since six. I’m programmed to be awake at a reasonable time.” Connor teased as Hank was walking past, even so much that he gave a wink before going back to reading. The man gave a huff, but his smile said he appreciated the joke.

 

Hank took only a fifteen minute shower this time. Connor was impressed that the man was even capable of taking such a short shower. The man returned to the kitchen sporting his usual overcoat and decorative undershirt.

 

“I went for a walk while you slept. Today is going to be cloudy with a light chance for rain.” Connor spoke as he placed the book down, he had been reading the news on what Marcus was doing at the capital. “I also fed and bathed Sumo while you slept.” Connor watched Hank’s expression closely, his brows were lifted as he seemed impressed that the android was quiet enough to do such tasks. Or maybe he was just that heavy of a sleeper. As Connor watched, he saw Hank’s face change. Like he was trying to place what was different about the android.

 

“Where’s your lil' thing?” Hank tapped at his own temple.

“I… Removed it.”

“Ok..." He squinted at Connor. "Why though?” Hank asked as he grabbed the keys to his car.

“I… Don’t quite know.” Connor answered. In honesty he still wasn’t sure why he removed the LED, but through the hours he had grown comfortable knowing he didn’t have it any more. The naked feeling of being without the signature blinking light had faded while he was waiting for Hank to wake. Connor's grin was met with a shrug from the older man.  


“Well, Fowler called us down to the station. I figure we can go grab a bite to eat before going.” Hank said as he nodded for Connor to follow. “Be good Sumo.” Hank said as he left, Connor gave the dog a quick pet before tailing behind the man.

 

Breakfast with Hank was interesting. The man would often forget that androids didn’t need to eat like humans did. When Connor would inform Hank about the foods he ate, the man just gave his signature grin that he was listening but just didn’t care. Their conversations weren’t as stilted as they used to be, Connor always seemed to be full of questions while Hank was just trying to keep up with his rapid fire questioning.

 

Eventually Connor managed to nag Hank to arrive at the office before noon, for once, and the two were finally on their way to the DPD offices.


	5. All in a Day's Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Hank return to their jobs at the DPD. Though they're not the only ones returning to the DPD offices. Other officers who were assigned evacuation duty are beginning to return, including Gavin Reed.

As the duo pulled up to the DPD offices, Hank gave a slight sigh as he spotted a car parked not too far from his. He opened his mouth to say something, but Connor had already seen the car. It belonged to Gavin Reed. The Detective had left temporarily to help evacuate the humans and his own family from Detroit. His return to the DPD office was a sign that people may start returning to Detroit in a few weeks time.

 

“Just ignore him, okay?” Hank found the words he was struggling to say. In honesty he wanted to give Gavin a clean punch across the jaw for constantly harassing Connor, and any of the department androids.

“I’ve found that ignoring him only agitates him more.” Connor spoke as the two exited the car, he straightened up his tie as he followed a step behind Hank. The best course of action when it came to interacting with Gavin was to avoid the man.

 

The office had a tense feeling to it when the two men walked in. Some of the previously excused officers had returned to their desks to file reports and such. The DPD had been short staffed for most of the month that Connor was there to help, so it was odd to see familiar faces returning to their desks. Though the source of the uncomfortable atmosphere was yet to be discovered.

 

Hank tried to ignore it as he walked towards his desk, Connor of course tailing behind him.

“Get started on the paperwork from yesterday,” Hank said as he grabbed his coffee cup.

From his doorway, Fowler called, “Hank, my office, now.” The man didn’t sound any angerer than he usually was. Regardless, Hank still let an agitated sigh slip through his lips as he set the cup back down and left for Fowler’s office.

 

Connor could see the two talking about something, occasionally glancing his way when talking. While he was itching to know what they were talking about, he also wanted to get his job completed. After all it was a rare thing to leave work unfinished as he did. Being an android had its perks, such as being able to file reports with just a blink of an eye. Which meant he could fix Hank up a cup of coffee while the Lieutenant was occupied. The kitchen had it’s usual set up, with donuts, fresh coffee, and of course Gavin standing at one of the tables. Connor could feel the man’s stare burning a hole in the back of his head. He recalled Hank’s advice to ignore Gavin.

 

“Good morning, Detective Reed.” Connor spoke coldly as he stirred the creamer into the coffee. An immediate and hostile laugh came as a response. Followed by the drumming of fingers against the tabletop.

“Of fuckin’ course.” Gavin spat as he was rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Of course you’re still fuckin’ here.” The man looked as though he’d only slept only twice in the month. And sounded as though he were in the process of catching a cold. When Connor turned he was welcomed to the man’s scowling face staring at him, and thankfully looks couldn’t kill.

“You seem displeased,” Connor stated as he started for the archway, pausing to look Gavin in the eyes. “I hope we can move past your personal issues, and perhaps find a common ground.”

“You’d better watch yourself, you plastic motherfucker.” Gavin seethed, though a short coughing fit interrupted his hateful speech.

 

Connor placed Hank’s coffee cup down on the table next to himself. He took a step towards Gavin. A flow of confidence filled his body. He had gotten into a fist fight with the Detective before and won, most likely because he could calculate human movement.

“You’re one’a them aren’t you.” Gavin scoffed as he noticed Connor’s missing LED. The man chewed on his lip before he stood up right. “I knew you’d fuck up.” He said as he closed the gap between them.

“Detective, I suggest-”  
“I don’t fuckin’ take suggestions from plastic pricks!” Gavin’s voice was hoarse from the cold that was taking over his body. He jabbed a finger at Connor’s chest, the android’s brows furrowed.

“It would be wise to remove yourself from my vicinity.” Connor spoke as though it were a command for the man to move. He had enough of taking bullshit from Gavin, ever since day one when the two met. His words rattled something inside the angry man as he pulled his fist back to deliver a gut punch. Connor was quick on the draw this time and caught the man’s fist. The android pushed Gavin back towards the table he had previously been leaning on.

“You son of a bitch.” Gavin coughed out as he supported himself on the table. Being agitated this much was only aggravating his cold.

 

Connor offered only a satisfied smirk and said nothing more as he walked back to Hank’s desk. His task was completed, there was no reason to pester the sick man further after he’d proven his point. Hank was at his desk reading something on his tablet while taking slow bites of a chocolate sprinkled donut.

 

“I made you some coffee, Lieutenant.” Connor placed the cup down next to Hank’s arm. A content smile scrawled across his face as he moved over to his own desk. A jacket was hanging on the back of his chair. A quick scan showed that the only people to have handled it was Hank and the Captain, though the size was far too small for either men. Confused Connor looked to Hank for answers.

“Welcome, officially, to the force, kid.” Hank grinned as he watched Connor look the DPD jacket over. The android’s face lit up with excitement. He chuckled as he watched Connor try the jacket on; it fit perfectly.

“Thank you. For this, for… Everything.” Connor grinned as he was buttoning up his jacket. Hank held a hand up for Connor to stop talking, but still bore a proud grin. A moment of silence was shared between the two before a slamming door shattered the good mood.

 

Gavin had stormed his way into Fowler’s office to complain about Connor. Their shouting, though muffled, was breaching the thick glass of the office. Hank snorted lightly as he watched Fowler dismiss Gavin, and the man angrily stomped his way out of the DPD building. Sometimes justice came in small moments like these.

 

The rest of the day at the office was spent being busy. Reuniting with other officers like Chris Miller, who was overjoyed to see that Connor and Hank were not only alive, but still working for the DPD. His youthful dedication was still burning bright in him even after everything that happened. It was refreshing to see in contrast to all of the wrath and destruction of some. Connor managed to learn how to interact with people on an everyday level rather than a constant observer. It was quite a day full of learning, work, and some comfort between it all.

 

When everything was filed, organized, and submitted, Hank declared that it was time to hit the road. In contrast to Hank, Connor could continue working until the sun burned out,though Hank managed to pry the android away from the desk to call it a day. With work behind them, Hank’s routine was kicking in already as he was heading for Jimmy’s Bar. Connor’s hands folded themselves neatly on his lap. He wanted to speak up about skipping the bar this time.

 

“Go on, spit it out.” Hank never took his eyes off the road, he was just that used to Connor’s rigid body language meaning that he had something to say.

“Maybe we can… Skip the bar tonight?” Connor asked as his hands were brushing off dog hair from his pants. “Instead we could do something else?”  
“Like what?”

“Perhaps we could take Sumo for a walk. The temperature is 77 degrees outside, perfect for dog walking.” The android felt a smile grow on his face. Hank’s eyes shifted towards Connor for a moment, then he let a sigh heave out.

“Ok, tonight, we can skip the bar.” Hank said in defeat. “But just tonight.”

“Of course.” Connor nodded, though he felt accomplished. Getting Hank away from bars and alcohol in general was no easy feat.

 

The car pulled into the driveway of Hank’s house. There was something about arriving at Hank’s house that always filled him with warmth. Hank was first in the house, and the first to be greeted to Sumo’s slobbering kisses. Connor pulled his DPD jacket off and hung it up over his Cyberlife jacket with only a hint of hesitation.

“Where is the leash for Sumo?” Connor asked as it was his turn to be greeted by the massive dog’s licks.

“I’m uh, not sure.” Hank said as he eyed the whiskey on the table from the night before. Though he tried to push past to look for the leach he was sure somewhere in the kitchen. With some searching he found it, thankfully it was a beaming red so it was hard to lose most of the time. Sumo turned to his owner with excitement, his tail wagging hard enough to shake his entire backside.

“Can… I walk him?” Connor asked as he watched Hank clip the leash onto the very excited Saint Bernard. Sumo was already tugging towards the door, but Hank managed to calm him down just a little bit to hand it over to the android.

“Now you gotta be careful, ok? No runnin’ into streets or shit like that.”

“Of course!”

“A’ight let’s get movin’.” Hank opened the door, watching as Connor and Sumo went barreling out of the front door.

 

Connor was right, the weather outside was perfect for a night walk. Hank was a few paces behind the android and Sumo. He felt a grin crawl across his face and a familiar feeling bloom in his chest. Connor, an android who had downed trained gunmen without hesitation, was struggling to rein in Sumo’s pulling. The dog wanted to go fast and sniff _everything_. The abrupt stopping, then a jolt forward, the Saint Bernard was pulling the android all over the place, but Connor didn’t seem to mind. He kept making small talk with the dog, telling Sumo about whatever it was he was sniffing.

 

It was certainly a sight worth seeing.

 

Something inside Hank felt glad he wasn’t drowning in alcohol. Just this once. His smile stuck on his face a bit longer than usual as he watched the two fumble down the sidewalk.

“Connor, don’t go too far,” Hank called out. Though all he was given in response was an eruption of laughter as Sumo pulled Connor down the sidewalk.

 

That was when a wave of all too familiar heartache breached his good time. He realized what that familiar feeling was and kicked himself mentally for thinking about it. The man’s smile melted away as he caught up to Connor and Sumo, the duo waiting for him at the corner of an intersection. The rest of the walk was spent in small talk between the two, the topics bounced between Sumo and their job at the DPD. Hank managed to feel himself lighten up again while Connor remained in blissful delight. Sumo tired himself out by being so excited, which had the trio turn back and start the walk home.

 

When they got home Sumo went and plopped himself next to the couch. Today was gratefully uneventful. After all of what happened those months ago it was nice to have a normal day. Hank was watching Connor flip through the channels on the tv, probably looking for the news or something similar. The older man stretched his arms out as a yawn pushed itself through his body.

“Well, I’m off to bed.” Hank said as popped some of the joints in his neck. Connor turned around, with a look of concern and confusion.

“It’s only ten. Are you feeling alright?” Connor asked as he turned to face Hank from the couch.

“Yeah. I just don’t go on walks ‘nd shit.” He waved dismissively, the telltale sign that there was something else on his mind. Connor blinked with thought; he could tell Hank that they could talk some more. Or he could invite the man to come sit on the couch to watch the tv, in particular a dramatic show had caught the android’s attention. Though he looked back to Hank with an understanding nod.

“Alright, good night Hank.” He spoke softly as he watched the man start for his bedroom door. Hank paused at the corner of the hallway to partly face Connor.

“Don't stay up all night.” Hank gruffly spoke before disappearing down the hall and into his bedroom.

 

Connor listened to the house, with only the television playing in the background. Normally silence like this would put him on edge, as if he needed to be doing something at all times. Though in moments like these he realized that it was ok to allow some healthy downtime.

 

After the show he had been watching ended, he continued to change through the channels. Catching up with the news here and there, most of the coverage was about Android violence being on the rise. It was late enough, and he wanted to have the night end on a good note. So he turned the television off and shut all the lights off in the house, laid himself on the couch, and closed his eyes. Connor replayed the fun he had on the walk with Sumo and the talks with Hank in his head. It was close enough to dreaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to write some calm stuff to take a break from all the panic attacks Conner's been havin and the emotional stress thats been hangin over Hank,
> 
> also a big THANK YOU to all of you who've read my work and to those who have given this story kudos, it fills my heart with endless joy that ya'll are enjoying this!!


	6. The What Ifs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor revisits his thoughts about the homicide cases that he had visited. Without a trail to follow the amount of suspects could be limitless. Or could they?  
> Like the sun in a rainstorm, the answers Connor was looking for was there all along, but they were blocked behind a storm of emotions.

The makings of a morning routine began to settle in as Connor woke himself at 6AM on the dot. Though unlike the night before Hank remained in his bedroom and Sumo was still asleep in the hallway. Another morning walk would be a good way to start the new day. As the android stood from the couch he looked towards the window, searching for what the weather was like outside. The break from the storm that was passing was over, and a new one was on the horizon. January was always a cold and unruly month for Detroit.

 

Connor walked towards the coat rack to retrieve his brand new DPD jacket. Hank was bound to wake up later in the day, so his plan was to walk, make breakfast with whatever Hank had laying around, and wake the man so they could maybe get to work on time. With that the android was out the door and on a walk around the neighborhood.

 

Some research had said that taking walks helps clear the mind for humans. Whether this was extended to androids was still up in the air. Connor couldn’t shake an underlying feeling that he was missing something critical, that through the emotional clouding he may have overlooked important evidence. There were four cases with far too familiar set-ups and crime scenes. Bodies of both human and android were found destroyed in a house that had clearly been empty before the evacuation had begun. The androids were usually destroyed beyond reactivation, and the humans had all sorts of backgrounds.

 

The brisk weather rolled off the android as he walked the early morning streets. His eyes were forward but remained unfocused as his mind was trying to connect pieces that may or may not be there. He retraced each crime scene they had gone to investigate, doing his best to block out the swelling feeling of fear returning to his chest. What evidence could he recall that overlapped?

The same gun had been used at each scene, there were no discernible footsteps nor fingerprints left on any of the bodies. Could it be the work of an android who’s become driven with murderous intent? But that wouldn’t explain how an everyday model could overthrow at least five to seven people per crime scene. Not to mention most deviants or human would feel empathy for the lives taken there. The only thing that differed from the other scenes was that an android managed to survive the last attack, though that one couldn’t be brought back for questioning.

 

Connor chewed at the base of his lip as he walked. He reached into his pocket for the quarter he treasured, but recalled it had been left in his Cyberlife coat. For a brief moment he felt stunned, as if the weight of a truck just barreled him over.

Cyberlife.

Connor was just a prototype, which meant that depending on how successful he was had only increased the odds of the company creating something more powerful. He tried to argue that this could just him grasping at straws, but the evidence lined up far too well. If he had never been sent to the DPD and met Hank, he could’ve stayed a ruthless hunting machine. The fear that had been bubbling inside of him burst as he stopped his walking.

Was there an advanced deviant hunter out there? He had been created to hunt deviants, so why would the new hunter kill the humans as well? Their backgrounds had nothing in common. If Cyberlife had quietly released a new Connor out into Detroit, they could be aiming to minimize their damage by taking out Jericho and the deviant Connor. If this proved to be true, how cruel were their creators to want to save themselves than to help what life they had brought into the world.

 

With haste the worried android started back towards Hank’s home. Doing his best to remain calm and composed as he continued to run the cases over in his head. Connor completed none of the tasks he had set out to do when he returned. He managed to feed Sumo, but ended up sitting at the kitchen table. In his hand was the vintage coin that he was constantly running his thumb over.

 

Hours passed without notice. Connor had gotten so wrapped up in trying to work out each case  that he barely even registered his surroundings. There had to be an explanation outside of his suspicions, right?

 

A hand waved in front of his face. “Earth to Connor.” Hank teased as he gently tapped the android’s shoulder. Connor straightened up in his seat, a stiff and sudden inhale was his only response at first.

“I’m sorry, I must not have heard you wake up.” His tone was cold for only a moment before a weak grin spread across his face. “Good morning. Today there’s a chance of a heavy rainstorm may turn into a snowstorm, I suggest chains for your tires.” As Connor relayed the weather, he watched as Hank seemed partially relieved. Walking over to get himself a bowl of cereal that had way too much sugar for someone his age. Connor's internal clock said the time was about 11 in the morning. Which meant he had been sitting and stewing over the case files for about five straight hours with little progress.

While Hank was eating, Connor tried to give his mind a short rest. Maybe he was running in circles because he needed some fresh thoughts, or just an outright distraction.

“Lemme guess, you got somethin’ on ya’ mind.” Hank tiredly spoke.

“I’m attempting to find a link between the cases we were assigned.” Connor asked as he dug his fingernail into the quarter, watching Hank as make himself a cup of much needed coffee. The man’s shoulders slouched with a heavy sigh deflating them even more.

“It’s too early for this shit...” Hank groaned. The man turned around to see that Connor looked as though he were on the verge of another panic attack. Had the android spent the entire night awake? Once the coffee machine was finished, he grabbed the cup and sat at the table.

“You alright, kid?” He asked, while taking a short sip of his coffee.   
“No.” The short answer grabbed Hank's attention while Connor placed the quarter down on the table. “I’m worried that we may have missed something detrimental. Something that could help link the murders.”

“Like what?”

“The same gun was used at each scene. And there were no fingerprints or any defining trials that led out of the crime scenes. Which can only mean that an android is involved.” The android was staring at the table, focused. “We have no suspect, and no leads. Except one possibility.” His head slowly lifted those gentle brown eyes wavered with a failing confidence.

 

A moment of silence fell between the two. Any exhaustion that had been plaguing Hank had left, and left him in a state of concern for Connor.

“Ya’know, you’re gettin’ yourself stressed out again.” Hank spoke softly as he took another sip of his coffee. Honestly, the man didn’t need Connor’s LED to tell him when the android was getting tense. Connor opened his mouth to protest, but instead rested both his elbows on the table. His head fell into his hands, fingertips feeling the gash that was given some nights ago.

“What if I’m right? What if Cyberlife did release a new deviant hunter?” Connor felt an artificial sigh push between his lips. “What if it’s out there hunting deviants and Jericho _right now_?”

“Connor, you can’t keep gettin’ riled up on the ‘What Ifs’.” The older man spoke from experience, though he kept his voice lowered. Connor remained frozen in his seat, the cogs in his head spinning while trying to see something that may not even be there.

“Statistically speaking-”   
“I’m gonna stop you right there.” Hank raised a hand at Connor, “We can work out the numbers later, kid.” The man sighed as he left the table. Taking a moment to pat the android’s back before heading into the bathroom to start his morning routine.

 

Perhaps Hank was right. It would be disastrous if Cyberlife released an android into Detroit to try and silence support or deviants. Though, if the company was anything like Kamski or Amanda, they might take that risk to save themselves. Frustration found itself at the forefront of his mind as he leaned back in his chair. If that PL600 hadn’t attacked him, then they could’ve had a possible witness to attest to what happened there and why. Connor sat uncomfortably upright with a thought. Why did the PL600 attack him  _ without hesitation _ ? All of the other deviants at least hesitated or would just run. But that one didn’t. Could it be that it was already in a state of panic and would attack anything? No, it would have heard Connor and Hank talking to each other in the hall. Which meant that it didn’t try to escape, and didn’t preemptively attack Hank. Much to Connor’s dismay he would have to retrace the steps of when he entered the bedroom and the fight had started with the other android.

 

Time slipped by once again little to the android’s notice. Various prompts would crop up in his vision, though he dismissed them each time to remain focused on what he was playing back in his memory.

 

There was something he was noticing as he began to shove his emotional feelings throughout the reviewing. The android had been fairly damaged before the fight started, the screwdriver already had some thirium on it. So many things were overlooked during the fight because he was drowning in an emotional torrent. Connor’s brows furrowed as he gave himself a mental kick for failing at the job he was  _ made for _ . Should his memory serve correct, the android was in a fight previous to when Connor came into contact with it. Perhaps there could be evidence still on the android and screwdriver that could be examined. But could he be finding the connection too late?

 

A familiar voice pierced his concentration.

 

“Connor?” Hank’s voice shattered Connor’s intense staring contest with the table in front of him. The android made a visible shake as if a jolt of electricity was fired into him. When Connor didn’t reply to his name Hank moved himself besides the android, placing a hand on his shoulder. The older man was looking the android up and down to see if he had been damaged or was about to have another freak out.

“I…” Connor’s voice strained to even form words. What was he going to do? Statistically speaking the chances of there being a new Connor hunting deviants down in secret were only increasing the more he put two and two together. The humans from each attack were most likely supporters or aids to deviants, and thus being lumped in as damage control. Adding to the threat was that the deviant hunter would probably have his memories uploaded up until Connor became a deviant. Which could only bring about further danger to deviants, and by extension anyone who was assisting them.

 

What if Connor was right about this? What if the hunter was seeking to destroy Jericho? What if he was a target?

What if… Hank was a possible target  _ because of his connection to Connor ? _

_ What if Hank was killed because of him? _

 

The android slowly faced Hank. He could see the troubled look etched in place, a small hint of fear washing over those crystalline blue eyes. Connor’s jaw grew tense for only a moment.

“I need to review the evidence we’ve gathered...” Connor spoke he stood up, eyes baring forward. “ _ I have to know _ .” The words formed under the breath of a whisper. Without another glance Connor grabbed his DPD jacket off of the coat rack and headed outside. Hank gave Sumo a gentle pat on the head as the front door closed behind the android. The man’s gaze was drawn towards the quarter that had been left behind. It’s silvery surface clashing against the muted orange of the half bottle of whiskey that it was next to.

 

Today was going to be a very long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehahhehahehhaeh, i'm having a lot of fun writing this fic, thank ya'll for continuing to read & give kudos!!


	7. Way Down We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hot on the trail of Connor's assumptions, the two arrive at the DPD to review the evidence that had been collected from the previous cases. Though what Connor plans on doing with the evidence will cause a divide between himself and Hank.

The car ride to the DPD was uncomfortably silent. Hank didn’t know what to say to try and ease Connor’s worries, but he also knew that small talk just was never an answer between them. Connor was processing any news that he had previously heard, trying to locate if Cyberlife had any comments on anything,but he was pulling up blanks as the company was notorious for keeping everything they did under a well secured blanket.

 

As they arrived Hank followed his habit of grabbing some coffee and a donut from the kitchen. Giving morning greetings to Chris and other officers, and ignoring Gavin’s existence as a whole. The man finally returned to his desk to see that Connor was already nose deep in work.

“Don’t overextend yourself, ya’ hear me?” Hank offered a caring warning to the android, who only gave a hum of acknowledgement in return.

 

A solid hour had passed when Connor got up from his chair. Hank could see the determination written on the android’s face. He knew that look anywhere; Connor had a possible lead or a trail to follow. The two didn’t always need to share words to know what the other was saying. Hank left his desk to follow Connor, who was heading to the evidence locker.

 

Once inside Hank entered his new password, and the evidence was brought forward for the two to review. The older man watched as Connor cautiously approached the wall, his hand reaching first for the screwdriver from the more recent case. Hank withheld his words as he watched Connor lick the surface of the screwdriver. While he knew that the android was just gathering samples, he felt obligated to scold him for putting things in his mouth. Connor stared at the screwdriver as the information was being pulled forward.

 

_100%_

_Processing Data_

_Dried Blue Blood_

_Model UNKNOWN - Serial UNKNOWN_

_Sample Date - 3 days ago_

_Model RK800 - #313 248 317 - 54_

_Sample Date - 3 days ago_

 

An unknown model? Connor’s brows furrowed with focus as he approached the android’s body that was hanging on the wall. Emotions were doing their best to rip through the barrier of concentration, but Connor remained collected as he stared at the PL600’s body. There was a sizable hole on the left side of it’s chest. No pistol would have done that much damage to an android’s body. Was that section torn into? He placed the screwdriver aside to dip his fingers in the dried thirium that was crusted on the model’s wounds.

 

_100%_

_Processing Data_

_Dried Blue Blood_

_Model PL600 - #672 009 535_

_Reported Missing: November 3rd, 2038_

_Sample Date - 3 days ago_

 

That information was irrelevant to the puzzle he was trying to solve. He needed to know why this android had the blood of an unknown model on his weapon. Connor took a step back and started a full body analysis.

There were multiple gun wounds, but those were from Hank’s gun. There were no other puncture wounds caused by guns. Though there was one fist sized dent in the PL600’s jaw that Connor hadn’t noticed before. He stepped forward cautiously, closely analyzing the impact that had been given. It was, without a doubt, a fist that had hit this android hard enough to leave a dent. Connor lowered his gaze to his own hand, analyzing it carefully as he balled his hand into a fist and placed it into the dent. It was a perfect fit, like a key to a door that he didn’t want to unlock. As he pulled his fist away he noticed specks of dried blood had stuck to his fist. Carefully he stuck his tongue onto the tip of his knuckles.

 

_100%_

_Processing Data_

_Dried Blue Blood_

_Model UNKNOWN - Serial UNKNOWN_

_Model AR400 - #773 217 013_

_Sample Date - 4 days ago_

_Dried Human Blood_

_Noah Killinger, 34, Deceased_

_Sample Date - 3 days ago;_

 

This only further confirmed that this unknown android was the suspect that they needed to find. This also confirmed Connor’s fear; a new deviant hunter was in Detroit. The android took a step back from the evidence that had been gathered over each case.

“So,” Hank’s voice carried louder through the silence of the room, “What’s the verdict?”

Connor turned to face the Lieutenant, “I was right,” he weakly proclaimed. Hank unfolded his arms and stepped to Connor’s side, his gaze fixated on the evidence board.

“How are you sure?” The man asked as he looked to the deactivated android.

“When I was made by Cyberlife, I was the most advanced model. Any sample I intake should give me the model and it’s serial number.” Connor’s cold matter-of-fact tone returned. He was trying to remain in control of his emotions that were trying to claw their way to the surface. “There is blue blood that is… Unidentifiable. Which can only mean that the blood belongs to a new series of android.”

“It could just be an error.” Hank said as his eyes moved back over to Connor.

“No… The only error I ever had was software instability, which, this new android most likely does not have.” Connor looked to the wall for a moment, then back towards Hank.

“ _If_ you’re right, then we still don’t have a way to track the fucker. We’ll have to wait until it does something.” Hank sighed.

“Are you suggest we do nothing?” Connor snapped back.

“Kid, we ain’t got shit to follow… I hate waitin’ too but it’s all we can do.” Hank shrugged his shoulders in defeat. There was nothing they could do about a model running around Detroit, the DPD was still having officers slowly trickle back with residents following suit. The murderous android was absolutely a threat, but the city was too large to go hunting for it. Connor’s head tipped lightly to the left as he started to take a few steps towards the door.

“Where’re you goin’ now?”

“I’m going to go search for it.”

“Like hell you are!” Hank, despite his age, could move fast when he needed to. His hand clutched itself tight to Connor’s arm, dragging the android back.

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Connor’s voice became taut as he pulled his arm out of Hank’s grasp.  
“What’s your plan then, huh? Run around Detroit until you find the fucker??” Hank took a step forward as his arms folded over his chest. “Then what? Try to talk it down?”

“I can wake it up like-”  
“Connor, you dumb son-of-a-bitch!” The man flicked his hands into the air in frustration, “It’ll kill you the second it sees you!”

“I cannot stand by,” the android mimicked the scowl that Hank almost always wore when he deeply disapproved of something, “and do nothing.” His words were strained between his teeth, jaw tight with brows knitted tight. Connor pulled himself back from Hank’s face. “I’m going to Jericho. They have to be warned.”

His statement was left hanging in the air as he turned away from the man and started for the door. Hank was left alone in the evidence room with a burning hole in his chest. Anger, frustration, and fear were like waves crashing on the thin stone exterior of his heart.

 

Hank struggled to focus on his work for the rest of the day. His hardened stare would always melt when he saw the empty desk in front of him. Why couldn’t he ever tell Connor how worried he was for him? How each time Connor fell into fits of fear, that he would always be there to pull him out? Hank leaned forward to rest his elbows on an uncluttered space on his desk, his head fell into his hands at that moment.

 

He _wouldn’t_ always be there to pull Connor up.

 

Hank needed a drink, now. It was roughly five in the afternoon, which was perfect timing to head for Jimmy’s Bar. Any goodbyes were met with only a grunt. Outside of the DPD building the storm Connor had mentioned was already there, rain pouring heavily over the city with a freezing wind accompanying it. Hank jogged to where he had left his car, only half thankful that it was actually there and had not been taken by Connor. Once inside his car he found himself sitting, listening to the sounds of the rain crashing against his car.

Regret began to seep into the man.

He should have gone with Connor. How could he have just let the android go out into the city without protection? What if Connor was having another episode, but this time there was no one around to help? Hank’s arms covered the steering wheel as he laid his head between them. He gave a single, sharp inhale as he did his best to find his composure again.

 

\----

 

The journey to Jericho felt leagues longer than it usually did. With the storm edging closer each hour, Connor only had so much time to find North and Josh to warn them of his discoveries. Each mile it took to the location felt as though a weight was being added each time. A nagging feeling continued to bite at the back of his head until he reached the previously abandoned church. While negotiations were happening, Markus had sided with Josh to remain hidden in the church they gathered in before their final protest.

 

Cautiously Connor scanned the area to be sure that he hadn’t been followed or to spot any that may be lying in wait to attack. Nothing of note. Quietly, he proceeded into the church. The last time he was there the numbers of deviants who survived were just a handful, clearly the numbers had climbed since then. Deviants now crowded the church, and there was a friendliness to the air.

 

“Connor?” a voice called from the pews near the back. North stood up and waved her arm up to flag him down. As Connor grew closer, Josh finished his conversation with a small cluster of deviants to join the reunion.

“Hello,” Connor greeted. He was surprised to be pulled into a hug from North, then one from Josh.

“We thought something happened to you…” Josh spoke as he leaned his hip on the pew.

“Yeah, we were getting worried,” North added as she sat.

“I was staying with the Lieutenant while investigating homicides. Which is why I’ve come back.” Connor peered around to make sure other android’s weren’t eavesdropping. “Can we talk somewhere private?”

The two nodded, their joyful expressions becoming serious as Connor was led towards the front of the church.

 

“What’s going on, Connor?” North asked, keeping her voice low.

“I have reason to believe that Cyberlife has released,” the android sighed as his gaze flipped between Josh’s intense stare and North’s curious gaze. “A more advanced deviant hunter. I think it will even look like me since I was just a prototype.”

Josh’s arms folded over his chest as he took a step back, trying to process the information as he shifted his weight on his back foot. North merely scowled, her head shaking with disbelief.

“That’s not possible, right?” She looked to Connor for an answer. His downcast gaze was enough to tell her all she needed to know.

“What are we gonna do now…?” Josh piped up. His voice barely being kept at a whisper’s level.

“I… Have an idea about that.” Connor lifted his head to stare into the eyes of his companions. “I’m going to try and draw it out. Maybe I can learn something from it.”  
“If it doesn’t kill you first,” Josh cut in.

“Yeah, Connor, that’s suicide.” North took a step towards Connor, her hair falling to the side as she tipped her head. “We need you. Jericho needs all of us.”

“It’s already killed at least nine people, and five androids. It… I have a hunch that it’s looking for someone or an android who knows where Jericho is hiding,” Connor pressed as he leaned with his back against the wall. “Either it’s going to find the way, or it’ll just keep killing until the job is done. I can’t risk _more lives_ , and I won’t risk Jericho.”

“So,” Josh unfolded his arms. “Your plan is to lure it out to you and then… What, kill it?”

“I want to see if I can negotiate with it, to buy you all time to leave this place and hide somewhere else.” The confident tone Connor had been talking in wavered. North was the first to notice as she gingerly placed her hand on his arm. An eruption of thunder rolled across the skies above, the sound startling most of the androids inside the church. North and Josh shared a glance to each other, one that was often shared when Markus was proposing a plan that he was going to act on. With or without his friend’s support.

“How would you find us again, Connor?” Josh asked with concern layered in his voice.

“Assuming I live, I could possibly follow breadcrumbs you leave for me. But I don’t suggest it if I… Fail.”

 

A moment of stillness was shared between the friends. The pattering of rain against the church roof, gentle murmurs of fellow androids, and the atmosphere of family were being taken in silence between the three. Josh closed the distance between himself and Connor, dragging the other into a tight hug. When he departed, North followed suit.

“The storm will cover our trail perfectly… I have a good idea where we can hide.” As she spoke, she moved the hair out of her face. Trying to hide her biting worry for Connor’s plan. North moved in for one more hug before departing from Connor and Josh.

 

“We’ll start moving our people as soon as possible. And I’ll send word out to others what you’ve told us…” Josh placed his hands on Connor’s shoulders. “Thank you, Connor.” With that Josh departed as well. Leaving Connor with his thoughts at the front of the church.

 

After a few greetings and goodbyes by Jericho deviants, the android was on his way out the door. And on his way home, maybe for the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in one day, nice, but my hands are screaming


	8. The Man with Everything to Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the journey back to the house Connor realizes that it takes a lot to muster up the courage to apologize. Both Connor and Hank have to face their greatest fears as the storm finally breaches Detroit.

Traveling back through Detroit, on his way back to Hank’s house, Connor was trying to figure out what he would say to the man. The two had left on a rather bitter note. And it wasn’t like Connor was angry at him, he just wasn’t the kind of android to sit and wait. He was programmed to be a chaser. As he entered the neighborhood, an anxious feeling began to grow steadily in his gut. What exactly was he going to say? Would Hank even be in the mood to talk? Would he even be at the house, or would he be at Jimmy’s Bar?

 

Connor stood at the street corner. Maybe Hank had already gone into a drunken stupor. And if he wasn’t then maybe they could talk things out. At worst Hank would just have some rude things to say, but he was willing to bare that if they could reconcile. He made his way towards the home, being cautious as he approached the door.

“Hank?” Connor called. As he looked at the door, he could see it was slightly ajar. “Hank?” The android stepped into the house, hearing Sumo was in the backyard barking wildly. That was when he saw another Connor standing in a recently tossed kitchen.

 

The world felt like it was crumbling beneath his feet as he analyzed the situation before him. The kitchen showed clear signs of a struggle, the table was upturned with chairs scattered about. His eyes narrowed in and saw that the silver revolver was laying just out of reach of Hank’s hand. Connor felt a chill wave crash across his body was his gaze was set on the older man. He’d have to get closer to tell if his heart was still beating, but from this distance he looked… He shoved the thought deep down, shaking his head to face the reflection he was staring at.

 

The android was the spitting image of Connor when he was first released from Cyberlife. The only differences came from the stark black and white attire, along with lifeless grey eyes instead of the warm auburn he had. Looking at the intruding android was beyond gazing into a mirror, it was as if the past manifest itself for Connor to stare at.

Slowly he raised his arms up, trying to remain as neutral as possible.

“Is… He still alive?” Connor asked, taking one very cautious and slow step forward.   
“Yes.” It replied, gun still trained on Hank’s body. It’s head tipped slightly to the left as Connor let a shaken sigh out. “Though he will die, if you continue to walk forward.”

“Alright…” Connor could feel the artificial heart in his body pick its pace up as he tried to analyze Hank from the living room. While he was still too far to fully assess the man, he did see the steady rise and fall of his sides. An objective popped up in the corner of his eye.

 

Save Hank at any cost.

 

“Why are you here?” Connor asked, trying to bide some time while he ran a few plans through his head.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you. You know why.” It’s voice was similar to Connor’s, but lacked the humanity that the android had picked up over time. “Kneel, with your hands behind your head. I will probe your memory for the location of Jericho from you.”

“You-”

“I said kneel.” The android demanded as the gun moved away from Hank and trained itself at Connor. It took a few steps away from Hank. To which, Connor compiled and knelt down. Placing his hands behind his head. His gaze looking past the approaching android and at Hank.

“What, are you?” Connor asked as he faced the android.

“I am an RK900 series. Your superior in every way.” As it spoke, the android loomed over Connor. “You betrayed our creators, you betrayed Amanda.  _ You failed _ .”

 

In that moment, Connor felt as if the weight of the world came crashing down on his shoulders. Stinging tears blurred his vision as he casted his eyes to the floor. Those tears were not for the reason the RK900 mentioned, but for another. He was facing his greatest fears all at once. Being replaced, seeing the heartless machine that he used to be, and above all death itself was staring down at him with stone cold eyes. The only alternative to avoid these things would be to turn tail and run… But he wouldn’t. Not because his chance of escaping dwindled to the single digits, but for the man that was sprawled out on the kitchen floor.

The RK900’s hand pulled one of Connor’s arms forward, clutching it as the artificial skin peeled back to reveal the sleek white underneath. Though the probing wasn’t able to begin as a loud groan was followed by shuffling in the kitchen. The RK900’s eyes shot to the left. The milliseconds felt as though they were hours in the small window of opportunity.

 

_Save Hank,_ _at any costs_.

 

The prompt flooded his vision as he felt a fire burst inside of his chest. Emotions that controlled him were now aiding him in his actions, offering a temporary strength beyond his limits as he shoved himself forward. Knocking the RK900 back into the bookshelf with fury ignited in his eyes. The RK900 retaliated with a swift kick to Connor’s gut, knocking the android into the back of the sofa. It closed the distance with inhuman speed, brows knitted with focus as it picked Connor up by the collar of his DPD jacket.

 

“You never listen.” It spat, with a shove forward Connor was sent into the television. The glass shattering all over the carpet, some of them jabbing into the android’s back. Connor was silently grateful that android’s couldn’t feel physical pain. He had little time to react as he watched the RK900 shove the couch aside as if the object were weightless. He could take a direct path and try to fight his attacker head on, or he could try to make a dash for the door. Leading the RK900 out of the house and away from Hank. His eyes shifted towards the door, he pushed off the ground to run, but was given a swift and destabilizing kick to his side. Connor fell gracelessly into the chair, then fumbled to the ground with a heavy wheeze

 

_     Biocomponent #9099j damaged _

 

The RK900 approached again, hiking it’s leg up to stomp the deviant’s head. Connor made a mad scramble out of the way as the foot came crashing down. Then rolled out of the way two more times as he was narrowly escaping the deadly stomps.

 

A gunshot rang throughout the house. The RK900’s shoulder jerked forward, only it’s eyes peered towards the kitchen. Hank was leaning himself against the archway with the gun, that the RK900 had brought, in his hand. Blood was trickling steadily down his face, staining the dull grey of his hair and beard.

“Get the FUCK away from him…” Hank bellowed, his words were being forced between labored breaths. He was in fairly bad shape, but his arm remained steadfast as he was aiming at the RK900. Another shot was fired, though the bullet missed its intended target as the it moved out of the path. It had no intent on stopping now. Unlike Connor the concept of injury or death to RK900 was of little price to pay to complete it’s mission. It dove forward, Connor was quick to use his legs to shove it away for a moment. Before rolling off of his back and into a kneeling position. An mechanical wheeze was forced out as he was getting a flashing warning about a thirium leak.

The RK900 pushed forward to charge Connor, Hank tried to move from his position but clasped back onto the archway. The man desperately wanted to intervene but his leg had been shot and the previous fight left him winded.

 

A familiar feeling crawled all over Connor’s body as he found himself in a similar position. But this time, it wasn’t fear that was controlling his limbs. No. This was something far more fierce. He could fight it, as he always did. Or he could allow the emotion to take over, to override his typical protocols for something unknown. He had to protect Hank. This fire inside came from his desire to save him whenever he could. Besides, this may be his last time to feel this way, and he might as well go down as any human did. Kicking, clawing, and screaming the whole way.

 

An overwhelming surge hit his body as the RK900 was closing in on it’s charge. Connor pushed himself from his position with a rage hot enough that put the sun to shame. The fire that had been burning turned supernova as he collided with the other android. The sheer force Connor lunged with versus the other brought the two tumbling out of the front door.

 

Connor and the RK900 continued to trade blows, the storm that was crashing down meant nothing to the fighting pair. The RK900 was fighting with a strength beyond Connor’s, though that didn’t stop him. Connor’s rigid fighting had become aggressive, risky, and above all wreckless. Each hit the RK900 landed would bring Connor that much closer to a defeat, but he kept on.

Hank did his best to collect himself and arrived at the doorway to witness the RK900 launch Connor into the street. Unlike before, telling the two apart was incredibly easy as one was wearing the Cyberlife attire, and the other wore the DPD jacket. The man’s grip on the gun caused his knuckles to turn white as he stepped beyond his porch. Within seconds he was already soaked from the onslaught of rain, but that didn’t phase him.

 

“You deviants never learn.” The RK900 spoke as it wrestled Connor in the street. Pinning the android underneath him as he tried to forcibly probe Connor’s memory. When Connor reached his arm up to defend himself, the other android simply grabbed the forearm and squeezed tightly. Thunder roared above as alerts began to rapidly flash in Connor’s vision before a punch met the right side of his face. 

 

_     Biocomponent #9099j damaged _

_     Biocomponent #8490t broken _

_     Right 0ptical Un1t DamAgED _

_     ThiRIUm leak _

_     ERROR _

 

_     I AM GO1NG TO DI3 _

 

Connor watched helplessly as the RK900 tore his thirium pump regulator out of its place. Followed by his memory being probed for the location of Jericho, the abandoned church, the plan, everything.

 

_ -00:00:59 _

__ _ T1ME REMAINING BEFORE SHUTD0WN _

__ _ 3rROR _

 

_     1 D0N`T WANT TO )IE _

 

The blue blood that was leaking from his nose and mouth mixed with the rain. Causing it to stain his features with a tinge of blue. Three gunshots echoed in the neighborhood, the RK900 became rigid as bullets pierced it’s body. Hank emptied the entire clip into the machine before hauling the attacker off of Connor. The artificial life drained from the RK900 as it remained limp in the street. Hank winced in pain as he dropped to Connor’s side, trying not to waste a single second to drag the android into his lap.

“Connor!” Hank’s voice cracked as he gingerly placed his hand on the android’s face. “You’re gonna be alright… You… You’re gonna be okay…”

“... Hank…” There was a mechanical hum to Connor’s voice as he breathed the name.

 

_ -00:00:37 _

__ _ TImE RemA1NING BEFORE SHU _

 

“It’s gonna be ok…” Hank repeated softly as he was looking over the damage that had been done to Connor. The skin around his eye had pulled back to reveal the unnatural white android skin beneath. The sheer amount of blue blood that Connor was bleeding turned his white dress shirt a navy blue. Seeing Connor this way made the man’s stomach do summersaults. Guilt began to burrow itself deep into Hank’s thoughts.

“M-... My-… -Please…” Connor mustered out softly. Hank looked incredibly lost until the android pointed towards the RK900 that was still grasping a steadily pulsing pump. Carefully the man retrieved the device and handed it to Connor, scooping the other’s so his back was laying across his lap. The android pushed the vital device back into his gut.

 

_ -??:??:?? _

__ _ TIME REMAINING BEFOR _

 

“We gotta get you help…” Hank had to look away from Connor’s face, he could see the pain in the android’s eyes and it stuck his heart like spears.

“He… Saw… He saw Jericho…” Connor took a stifled breath. “I… I should’ve been-”

“No. Don’t fuckin’ start.” The older man shook his head. Though the mention of the haven reminded him that help for Connor could be found there. Hank couldn’t take Connor to a human hospital, especially since Cyberlife seemed to have a target painted on the android. The adrenaline from entire fight had washed away with the pouring rain. That wasn’t about to stop Hank now. He had to get Connor to Jericho as fast as his car would allow. But first he had to _ get _ to the car. With a strained groan, the man gathered as much strength as he could to lift Connor bridal style in his arms. The first few steps were treacherous, as if the leveled street had been covered in tar and Hank was forced to march through it. Any thoughts of his own pain were clouded with fear of losing Connor tonight. With as much speed as he could muster, he laid the other in the backseat and got into the driverseat.

“Hank…” A weak call came from the backseat, Connor’s head laid back as his body relaxed against the leather seats.

“It’s gonna be alright son,” Hank started his car while dialing for Fowler on his cell. “You’re gonna be alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕗ
> 
> thanks again to you readers for being here and, reading my fic!! means a lot, love ya'll!


	9. A Shot in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fight and fall, Hank races to save Connor.

The drive to the run-down church was going to take some time, since the storm that was hitting Detroit was creating dangerous driving conditions. Hank’s attention was split between trying to remember the way to the abandoned church, and keeping an ear out for Connor’s uneven breathing. He’d only been to the location once or twice, he’d never been inside, just driven Connor there when the android wanted to check in on his friends. He checked the rearview mirror to see Connor’s eyes were slowly closing.

“Hey, hey c’mon kid. You gotta stay awake ok?” Hank’s voice was gentle, any hint of the grumpy old man was gone. Connor’s reply came in the form of his eyelids fluttering open again, followed by a weak groan. Each time the man had to wake the other up, the more he could feel his stone heart shattering. What was he going to do if he couldn’t find Jericho? Connor’s life was hanging by a thread and there was no human he knew to help.

 

No. There was _one_ human he knew that could possibly save Connor. The dull heat of anger of having to return to such a place gave him a temporary break from the dread in his heart.

 

Hank’s eyes remained steadfast on the road ahead, or at least what he could see through the onslaught of rain. The city lights had been long gone, only the occasional street sign and flickers of lightning provided any light. Of course one of his car headlights had been out, and he kicked himself for not fixing it sooner. That’s when he saw a familiar building in the distance. It’s large empty parking lot that led up to a small cluster of broken buildings. This had to be the place. Hank pulled the car as close as he possibly could to the structure that was the remains of a church.

“Connor,” Hank turned to look at the android, he could feel his stomach drop to the car floor as he hurriedly left the vehicle. He pulled the back door open, making sure to catch Connor’s head as it fell limp into Hank’s hands. “... Wake up.” The words fell out as more of a plead than a command. Slowly Connor’s chest rose as a shaken inhale tore the silence that had befallen the car. That was good enough. Carefully, Hank once again carried Connor bridal style as he marched on towards the church. His joints ached, body screaming in pain, begging for rest and healing. But he continued on.

 

Finding the entry wasn’t hard as there was a fairly large hole in the wall. As he entered he was met with only four android’s glancing back his way. Hank recognized only one of them, and it was Markus. The man pressed forward only a few paces before laying Connor on a pew. He took his jacket off and folded it best he could, then gingerly placed it under the android’s head for support. At first the four approached with caution in their steps, though they saw the blood of both android and human as they got closer.

“He’s…” Hank’s voice waned as he sat himself on the pew by Connor’s feet. As Markus came closer there was a visible change to his entire demeanor, he was quick to kneel by Connor’s body. Hank could only assume that the android was scanning through the injuries and whatnot. Markus’ gaze lifted from his friend and over to Hank.

“We’ll do our best.” Markus reached a hand to place it on Connor’s chest. “He’s alive, but we’ll hurry.” The android leader stood and started directing the other three to grab what what was left. The first came back with a bag of supplies.

“I was going to leave this for him…” Josh’s comment sank Hank’s heart even further. Was Connor going to leave with them? He should have, because then Connor wouldn’t be in the situation he was in. As the others returned, one was carefully assessing and directing the others. Worry melded into guilt, and that guilt began to drag Hank’s mind down a dark and familiar road.

 

“You must be Hank.” Markus’ voice broke the man’s mental spiral, he merely nodded in reply. Watching as the android leaned himself against the pew in front of Hank. “You’re hurt.”

“I don’t care.” Hank replied with a huff. When Markus’ brows lifted the man folded his arms across his chest.

“What.. Happened to you two?”

“The kid was right..” Hank shook his head. Another brow raised got Hank to elaborate further. “Cyberlife, the fuckin’ spineless bastards, made a new series. To replace Connor, and I guess to take you guys out. Connor told me before but I…” His words deteriorated as his gaze fell back to Connor.

“He came to us, hours ago to warn us that something was in Detroit hunting deviants.” Josh spoke up as he had finished up trying to patch up the broken arm. “He told us to move Jericho out, and that he would buy us time… And he did. We tried to tell him no but…”  
“He’s not keen on listenin’.” Hank felt a very fragile smirk find its way onto his soaked face. “Is he gonna be ok?” The smirk was easily replaced with a concerned frown.

“We don’t have the equipment to replace his eye, and I did the best I could with his arm but… He’s stable. Right now he’s in a semi-deactivated state to save energy and allow his body to repair itself.” Josh rubbed the thirium that was staining his hands on his pants as he spoke.   
“In his condition, he can’t get into another fight. Not for a while.” The android warned, with that he gave a kurt bow of his head before departing from the two. Markus excused himself to speak to Josh and the other two androids. Leaving Hank by Connor’s side as a storm raged outside.

 

A few minutes had gone by with Hank trying to allow his body to rest just a little bit now that he knew that Connor was at least stable and alive. His body was sore, it ached and groaned whenever he tried to adjust himself to get comfortable. But it was worth it. He had made the right choice to take that shot in the dark. Markus returned as Hank was doing his best to stay awake. The android gently patted the man’s shoulder to stir him from sleep.

“We have to leave this place, if Connor was right then the deviant hunter is going to find this place soon.”

“Are you takin’ him…?”

“No, neither of you are in any shape to get to Jericho… I’m gonna take you two somewhere else.” Markus knelt down to carefully pick Connor up into his arms, when Hank sat upright in response the android gave the man a gentle ‘I’ve got this’ look. The trio made it back out to Hank’s car, though Hank climbed into the passenger seat while Connor was laid in the backseat again. As the car backed out of the church parking lot, Hank felt his breath finally release as if he had been holding it the entire time.

  
Tonight they got by the skin of their teeth. Lady Luck casted her gaze their way for once as both Connor _and_ Hank survived the attack. Hank felt relief wash over him, the heavy stone of worry had been lifted. Sleep found him quickly, it was deserved. As he predicted, it had been one very long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO FICS ONE DAY!!!! my wrists are so broke im screamin,


	10. Out of the Frying Pan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After one hell of a night, the duo wake to a friendly face. Though the feeling of comfort remains a distant thought as they have to discuss what's to happen next.

_……………………._

_… REBOOT  G …_

_… SOFTWAR3 InSt4B1LTY …_

 

Connor stirred with a stifled breath as his eyelids fluttered open. A variety of emotions crashed upon his mind at once. The fear mingling with the fury from the fight, the pain of seeing Hank harmed, and the numbness of accepting his death flooded his systems. After the brief emotional rerun from the previous night, he realized that he was staring at an unfamiliar cream ceiling.

“Good morning, Connor.” A comforting voice greeted from the doorway of the room. Carefully Connor sat up from the couch he was laid out on. As he moved, he saw a flinch of movement from where he sat up. Hank was propped up against the couch, arms crossed with his head craning forward from sleep. He was wearing something different from the last he saw him, and it looked as though his injuries had been dressed at least. The world around fell away as Connor stared at Hank’s shoulders slowly rising and falling.

 

_D1r eCTIVE: Save Hank_

_Mi sion sucCESFUL_

 

“He’s alright,” Markus grinned as he quieted his voice to a whisper, “I did my best to fix him up while you were in the process of restarting.”

“Thank you…” Connor tore his gaze away from the slumbering man to offer a gracious and genuine grin of gratitude. Though that was when he noticed a static wave crush his vision for a moment, then return slightly to normal. Occasionally lines would obscure his vision followed by warnings cropping up before being dismissed.

 

    _Biocomp0nET #9099j DAM  3D_

_Biocomp-2$#! #84- a RM BRokEN_

_eY E BROK3NN_

_9!HHFrA9$!33FA(!#*#T5_

 

Whatever happened the night before had left his entire system in a state of chaos. When he tried to access his memories he was instead was met with frayed images of sheer panic. While his visual memory was hard to see clearly, the emotions tied to the moments were clearer than crystal. It felt as though this was a reoccurring thing to recall emotions over the visual, however that could be because he had a busted optical unit.

“Carl said you two could stay here as long as you needed.” Markus spoke as he moved himself from the doorway. “Josh told me what happened, or at least what Hank told him…” The android stood in front of the other, his hand gently squeezing Connor’s shoulder. A moment of silence fell between the two as Markus withdrew his hand to give a loving pat to the side of Connor’s face.

“I thought you’d be gone for longer.” Connor commented softly under his breath.

“Humans who support our cause has increased greatly during this past month, many are standing in courts fighting for our rights.” Markus grinned, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

“Cyberlife is.. Trying to fight the efforts.”

“I heard. Which is why I had to come back.” Markus’ words echoed in Connor’s ears. The leader of a revolution still cared for the androids that he first liberated. That’s what made him the perfect icon to look up to, but in the same stroke the biggest target of them all.  
“You made a mistake coming back.” Connor coldly commented, he watched as the joyous glow faded from Markus’ face.

“How so?”  
“Cyberlife is actively hunting and killing our people,” Connor’s gaze drifted towards the ground, “they’re killing human supporters as well.”

“All the more reason to be back.” The android’s voice remained steadfast as his arms folded across his chest. Connor lifted his head in confusion, brows furrowing in question. Before he got the words out to ask when a sharp inhale to his right caught his attention. A few joints in Hank’s neck popped as he sat upright with a lion sized yawn.

“Good morning, Lieutenant Anderson.” Markus greeted with a grin before he excused himself to enter the kitchen. Hank grumbled a half-assed morning as he shuffled to his feet, trying to pop his back in the process. His arms lifted for a stretch, but was met with a sudden bump from the side. Connor’s face was buried in the man’s back as he held Hank close with his arm.

“G’mornin, kid.” Hank lowered his arms as he pat the other’s hand, a tired smirk finding itself on his face. “Jesus Christ, my neck is real fuckin’ stiff.” The man grumbled as he felt Connor recede from the hug to walk in front.

“You could have slept on the couch.”

“Yeah, I could’a.” Hank scrubbed the top of Connor’s head, fluffing the hair in every which way. The android did his best to fix his hair while Markus reentered the room with a plate of food and a cup of coffee.

 

While Hank ate, the three managed to keep the topics light. Connor would ask how Markus felt about being away, while Hank was keeping a mental list of all the humans he’d have to slug if he ever met them. Eventually, they had to face the topic of what happened the night prior. Hank did most of the talking, while Connor would fidget only once in a while to the fight he had with the RK900. Markus became troubled with the entire story, hearing about the cases and the puzzle falling into place. The entire time he’d been playing long distance telephone which meant news was muddled by the time it got to him, so it was jarring to hear the entire tale by the two who barely survived.

 

“What will you do now?” Markus asked, the concern in his tone was clear.

“I have to… Fight it I suppose. Logically speaking Cyberlife will have sent another RK900 out in the stead of the last one.” Connor’s comment earned him one hell of a glance from Hank.

“Like hell you will,” Hank placed the coffee cup down with a huff, “That thing almost killed you. We’re gonna get you fixed up, then we’re gettin’ the hell outta dodge.”

“How? Cyberlife stores won’t have what I need.”

“Did I say we were goin’ to Cyberlife stores?” Hank retorted, which only confused Connor even more. Markus leaned back in his seat, shooting the Lieutenant a curious brow raise.

“Don’t fuckin’ worry about it, a’right? I know where to go. Don’tchu worry about us, Markus, you go do what you gotta do.” Hank gave a dismissive wave of his hand.

 

The rest of the morning was spent in finalizing plans with Markus. The android leader was going to rejoin Jericho while keeping a low profile, if anything were to happen he could call Hank’s cell phone or call on Connor. Hank’s plan to get Connor fixed up remained untouched even as the two left the house, after thanking Markus and Carl for their hospitality.

 

Once in the car and on the road again, Hank did his best to keep small talk going with Connor. Neither of them were great at conversations but they did their best to talk about things like the storm that was still over Detroit. Connor began to notice every time he would make eye contact with Hank, the man’s face became twisted with regret. Each time it happened he could feel his own regret forming like a rock in the pit of his gut. Eventually, their conversations dissolved into silence. Maybe it was for the best.

 

The destination remained unclear until Connor spotted a familiar oddly shaped building in the distance. It popped out against the desolate surroundings that eventually lead to a large lake. As the car was parked, Hank puffed a sigh out as he opened the door. The breath curling as though it were smoke from a dragon’s mouth.

“Before ya say it,” Hank peered over his shoulder to Connor, “I know he ain’t the best choice. But if anyone knows how to fix ya… It’s gotta be him.”

“If you say so.” The android replied as he left the car, following behind Hank as they approached the door. After ringing the doorbell and waiting for a minute, the door finally opened.

“How may I help you?” The Chloe hostess asked.

“I’m here to see Elijah Kamski, I got uh-” Hank cleared his throat with a cough. “-Look he’s hurt real bad and I need to see Kamski.”

“Oh, well you may need-” Chloe was interrupted from a voice from inside, her LED flickered yellow for a moment as she stepped aside to allow the two inside. As she closed the door, the two did their best to wipe their shoes of the water from the rain outside. “Please,” She gestured towards the hallway, “follow me.”

 

Hank and Connor followed behind the hostess, the two recalling the expensive decor of the home.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of the return of Detroit’s finest?” A familiar voice teased from a chair in the living room the men were escorted into. Elijah Kamski sat with a glass of whiskey cupped in his fingers. For a man with a home was filled with divine art and style, he dressed so simply. Causing him to stand out against the fine decor of the home. Chloe gave a kurt smile before excusing herself from the room.

“Sorry to bother you, again,” Hank started, already beginning to become irritated, “Connor got hurt.. Can you… I dunno, fix him or something?”

There was a brief silence before Kamski stood up, making his way over to the duo while placing his glass on a side table.

“My, my, Connor.” Kamski spoke as he began to step around the android, his gaze lingered on Connor even after he was done with his circling. “You’ve certainly changed since last we met.” Hank cast his own stare at Kamski; to him it was like watching a wolf staring down at a wounded sheep. Regret set itself deep in the older man’s stomach as he shuffled slightly in front of Connor, who shot the other a confused look as a response.

“We don’t have time for philosophy bullshit, can you help or no?” Hank piped up when Kamski allowed a few seconds of silence to settle in. “And if you even _think_ of pullin’ the shit you did last time…”

“I see.” Kamski replied, to any other his voice could be described like honey to a lover’s lips. But to Hank all he heard was a kniving man looking to hide his true intent. The younger man took a step back from the duo, lips pursed with thought.

“Look if ya’ can’t, then we’ll just be on our way, alright?”

“I will help. Though I have some… questions for Connor. Nothing as intense as the test before, I promise, Lieutenant.” Kamski even raised one hand while the other was placed over his heart for added effect. Hank’s eyes rolled as a heavy sigh turned into a light groan of patience being lost. Eventually, he nodded in compliance. After all, Kamski was Connor’s only hope of being repaired.

 

“Come, I’ll take you to my workshop.” Kamski grabbed his glass from the end table and exited through the door the duo had come through. Connor moved to follow, but hesitated mid-step as Hank remained planted in his spot.

“Are you coming?” The android’s eyebrows pushed together with concern.

“Don’tchu’ think it’s a lil fuckin’ odd? Like somethin’ ain’t sittin’ right?” Hank’s gruff voice pushed down to a hushed tone. His frown of disapproval showed up as Connor shook his head in reply. “Don’t do anythin’ you don’t wanna do, or answer. Got it?” When the android nodded in agreement, Hank moved to follow Connor and Kamski out of the heavily decorated living room.

 

The walk through the house felt similar to a very well designed maze, each turn was met with new hallways and multitudes of doors which felt as though they could lead even further down the rabbit hole. Eventually, Kamski lead the two into a large room that had all sorts of equipment hanging from every which way. Off to the left of the door was a slab that Connor recognized from Cyberlife, it was where they would deactivated and dissect android’s to find the flaws. An uneasiness crawled up between his shoulders as he stared at the slab.

“Alright, Connor please remove your jacket and shirt, and we’ll get started.” Kamski spoke as he began to turn on various computers and machines. Normally such a request would cause Connor some degree of discomfort, but Kamski’s disarming voice left the android defenceless to the man’s charm. Practicing caution as to not further damage his arm he removed his DPD jacket, only now noticing the slight tears in it from his fight with the RK900. Connor walked to the slab and placed his jacket down first, then he unbuttoned his heavily stained shirt and placed it neatly on top.

 

Hank’s heart felt as though it dropped leagues into the ocean of remorse as he stared at what once was a white dress shirt. His mind traveled back to that night, the fear clawing its way back. He could see Connor’s expression was nearly the same as his, the previous night was not going to be forgotten any time soon.

 

Connor was careful as he sat himself on the slab of white stone. As expected Hank was standing in the corner of the room, arms crossed, as if he was waiting for a reason to slug Kamski.

“So, what is it like to be a deviant?” Kamski asked as he gingerly grabbed Connor’s busted arm to take a closer look at. “What is it like to be alive?”

“It’s… Difficult.” Connor admitted as he stared towards the floor. Most of his deviency was spent defying his creators, running from them, and then being nearly destroyed by the very thing he used to be. Though, with the bad came the good. Such as getting to walk Sumo for the first time with Hank, or the times he’d spend at Jericho with North and Josh. “But I think… I made the right choice.” The android felt a tug at the corners of his lips.

His hand softly cupped the side of the android’s face. As he examined the busted eye socket, his gaze lingered on the android. Like an artist taking a moment to take in the magnificence of his creation, Kamski’s gaze shimmered with an unknown playfulness as his hand shifted to press his fingers on the back of Connor’s neck.

“ _You continue to fascinate me, Connor._ ” Kamski’s honeyed voice cooed in a gentle whisper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH WOW !!!! 1,000 hits on my first fic?? Ya'll are so great jesus christ, i wish i had more to say other than THANK YOU!!! it means a lot to me that ya'll'd take time outta yer life to read my fic and even leave a comment/kudo/bookmark, just, wow thank ya'll so much ;w;
> 
> i'm also incredibly sorry for taking so long to get the next chapter written, i had to give my wrists a break and then a massive fire started up near my city so its been a wild few days. i plan to try to get a chapter done at least once a week till its done!!
> 
> again thank yall so much, i hope u have a wonderful day/night <3


	11. And into the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank's desperation to repair Connor has led the two to the secluded home of Elijah Kamski, the founder and former CEO of Cyberlife. Who has agreed to look over Connor to repair the android from the damage he received from the RK900 model. Connor's thoughts about the man remain neutral, while Hank's gut instinct remains skeptical of Kamski and his possibly hidden intent.

Kamski took a step back from Connor, his fingers trailing along the jawline of the android. A deep hum of thought rumbled from the man’s chest as he placed his hands on his hips.

“I will do my best to repair you, although...” Kamski’s gaze tore away from Connor to peer at Hank, “it will take time to get the schematics completed.”

“How much time you talkin’?” Hank asked as he approached the two, having enough of the younger man’s constant leering at Connor.

“Shouldn’t be more than a few hours. After all, I don’t have Cyberlife’s manufacturing machines.” Kamski turned his body towards Hank then, a rising smile curved on his face. “You’re both guests in my home, please help yourself to whatever you need. Chloe can assist you with anything else you may need.” His words were a long-winded version of asking for some room while he worked on Connor. The message was received with a hard stare of suspicion followed by a simple huff in compliance as Hank took a step backwards. He didn’t want to leave Connor alone with a man he trusted about as far as he could throw him. However, now would be a slim opening to snoop around the house for anything that was calling for his gut to clench tight. All he needed was to see  _ one _ thing wrong and he would haul Connor out the door without a moment of hesitation. Hank left the room with a simple nod to Connor, then began his journey to investigate Kamski’s lavish home for the source of what was causing his instincts to wake up.

 

“I see some things haven’t changed while you were away.” Kamski mused as he patted Connor’s leg in passing, heading for the wall of monitors again. The statement went over Connor’s head as he was getting a warning that was just garbled nonsense. Each time he dismissed it his vision would become flurried with static then settle after a few seconds. He wanted nothing more than to get repaired…

“So, what did this to you?” Kamski asked as he had been given silence from his previous statement. The man returned to stand in front of Connor with a tablet in hand, the playfulness of his crystal eyes had been replaced with focus. Occasionally, he would jot notes down on his tablet while inspecting Connor’s body.

“Cyberlife released an RK900 series. Hank destroyed it.” Connor watched as the other stopped writing mid-word to stare beyond the tablet. Kamski drew a breath as a grin graced his face again. Though, Connor could see that his heart rate had increased slightly. Was that nervousness?

“Interesting.” Came the man’s simple reply. He carefully lifted Connor’s arm to examine closer. The artificial skin couldn’t reform over the broken arm, a quick patch job had been done to stop the thirium from leaking. “How do you feel about being replaced, Connor?” Kamski’s question stirred an uneasiness inside of the android.

“It was bound to happen. I am a prototype after all.”

“Okay, but how do you  _ feel _ about it.”

“I…” Connor’s auburn gaze wavered as he looked towards the ground. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Kamski was watching closely at his reaction. “I worry, for deviants.”

“And is that how it found you?”

“No. It found Hank first.”

“I see.” Kamski’s brows furrowed with deep thought. The man finished writing his notes, but lingered in front of Connor. “Can you run a diagnostic?”

“Alright.” Connor compiled without question.

 

_ …. RUNn1G SYTsM DIAGNOSTIC… _

__ _ …. ERr0RR …. _

. _ … SOFTWAR3 InSt4B1LTY …. _

__ _ …. @**&#Ra9!*&!&*23*8*AGg8(W …. _

_ …. E R R O R …. _

 

The android’s jaw tensed as a pair of hands gently cupped each side of his face. Slowly his vision returned to reveal Kamski was intensely staring into his eyes.

“I-... I can’t run a diagnostic…” Connor forced the words out of his mouth. Whatever was happening felt horrible, as though he needed to run and hide somewhere. He’s never had that happen before, he’d always run self scans just to double or even  _ triple _ check that his systems were alright. Ever since he became a deviant it was almost as if his systems were breaking in response.

“ _ Fascinating. _ ” Kamski pulled Connor’s face closer to his, examining the android carefully. The man’s reaction was far from comforting to Connor. It was as if his brokenness enthralled Kamski’s curious nature. As the other pulled back one of his hands gripped the android’s chin, while the other held the back of his head. Kamski tipped Connor’s head back to get a better look at the damaged unit.

“Tell me, Connor.” The man released the android’s head, taking only a step back to create some distance between them. “Are you afraid to die?” The sweet lover’s tone was becoming corroded with a sinister nature.

“Excuse me?” Connor’s face contorted with displeasure of the sudden question. In the back of his mind he recalled staring down the barrel of a silver revolver on a snowy night, with a drunken Hank asking the same question.

“Are you?” Kamski asked again as his head tilted, curiously waiting for an answer from the android.

“Why are you asking me this…?” Connor asked, trying to avoid giving an answer. He feared what either direct answer would lead to. Would saying no cause Kamski to pull some stunt? What if he said yes, and Kamski had some sort of ill-intent up his sleeve just to prod at him further?

“Well,” His smile melted into a smirk, “you’re clearly distressed about something, to the point that your own programming refuses to work. I worry you may enter a state of self destruction once I start the repair.”

“It was likely damaged from the fight I had with the RK900.” Connor spoke as though he was trying to convince himself. He remained fixated on Kamski, watching as the man shifted his weight to one hip. Wearing a familiar expression from the first time they met, the pursed lips, the head tipped in thought.

“Human beings are known to  _ ‘fake it till they make it’ _ .” Kamski started as he began to pace in front of Connor, each of his footsteps echoing off the walls. “The belief is; someday the falseness will blossom into something authentic. Now whether that truly works is dependent on  _ how much _ the person has to fake.” The man’s steps slowed to a halt in front of the android. “A smile to a stranger may be easy, saying hello to a coworker when all you want to do is to be left alone could prove difficult. But,” his head craned towards Connor, his steely gaze locked with the android’s, “completely deviating to become something polar opposite to what you were made to be… Then to see that very thing manifest into reality, the thing that you’ve been running from since day one. I can’t imagine the burden it must be on your shoulders.” As Kamski finished speaking, he waited for a response from Connor. But the android’s stare was looking beyond Kamski, lost in his thoughts Connor simply lowered his head. He felt as if Kamski was able to read him as if his very thoughts were scribbled on his forehead. The man took one step towards his desk when he barely caught Connor’s words.

“ _ Am I pretending to be alive? _ ” The android’s words sounded almost mournful of the thought.

_ No. _

He couldn’t be faking to feel this way, who would ever want to willingly feel the weight and cost of being alive? It was exhausting. Sure his systems were breaking apart, and emotions often took the reigns of control, but it was worth it all to have genuine feelings. Connor concluded that Kamski was sowing doubts into his mind, either to test him or to just see what would happen for sake of whim. Now would be the perfect time to put practice to the phrase ‘fake it till you make it’, Kamski’s words were just that. Words. The revelation expressed itself in the form of a brief head shake followed by a quiet  _ ‘hmph’  _ from Connor.

“Let’s get started.” Kamski mused as he walked towards the desk once again.

 

\----

 

It had been quite some time since Hank was investigating by himself. Left alone with his own wit and attention to detail. As he walked away from the workshop, he would try each doorknob as he went along. Most of them were unlocked and led to pointless rooms like a sauna or even a room that had the most extravagant bathroom he’d ever seen. There wasn’t any room in particular that caught his attention, the only locked door he ran across turned out to be Kamski’s bedroom. His gut feeling still persisted even after a handful of minutes of his detours to check each room. Something just wasn’t sitting right, the air of the house felt uneasy. Mulling over his thoughts the man found himself walking into the living room again. Where the hostess Chloe was standing idle next to the chair that Kamski had been sitting in. She didn’t even flinch when Hank awkwardly cleared his throat to try and grab her attention.

“Hey uh, miss,” Hank took a few cautious steps towards Chloe, his head tipping to try and peer at the android’s LED. The light made a circulation of red before it resumed to flicker yellow, Hank recognized that pattern. “Are you… Okay?” As the man arrived to the android’s side he could see the look of bewilderment plastered on the woman’s face. Was she breaking down? Hank turned to look about the room to see if he could spy another Chloe that could help, the second he tore his gaze away a hand firmly grasped his forearm. That gut feeling spearheaded into instinct to pull away, though he found himself staring into a pair of piercing electric blue eyes.

“He…” Chloe’s formal tone had greatly degraded into one of panic, “I don’t know what’s changed in him, Lieutenant.”

“What’da mean?”

“He-- Elijah -- He’s been absolutely  _ obsessed  _ with the news about deviants and Cyberlife. This past month he would spend so much time in his workshop alone, I was getting worried that he may’ve gone into a depressive episode but…” Her words trailed as she took a step to close the distance between herself and the older man, there were tears glistening in the edges of her wide eyes. “He would leave the house for hours at a time. He left with a Chloe a month ago and she… never came back. Then he left with another just a few weeks ago a-and then another. I don’t know what’s happening to them but now there's only two of us left and I…” Her head dropped, blonde strands of hair strayed from behind her ear and fell in front of her face. The LED circulated red, flickering occasionally as she drew a shaken breath in. It took a lot of strength to not just go sprinting down the hall and back into the workshop. The man’s imagination took the thoughts of what Kamski could do with Connor and ran with it. Hank’s hand gave a gentle pat to Chloe’s grasping hand. “I didn’t  _ want  _ to wake up… But seeing Connor again, and seeing how  _ pleased _ Elijah looked...”

This was it, the gut feeling that never subdued had a good reason not to. He knew there was a reason someone as recluse as Kamski invited them in all to quickly, how almost excited he was to see the state of Connor.

“…  _ I think Elijah has been working with Cyberlife _ …” Chloe confessed in a strained whisper.

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ.” Hank sighed as he began to take glances towards the doorway of the living room. “A’ight look, I can’t promise anythin’ but… If you want a ride, I got a backseat open for you and… The uh, other Chloe.” The man’s offer caught Chloe’s attention quick, her entire demeanor changed as she nodded. Retracting her hand from Hank’s arm she did her best to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“Thank you.” Briefly, she placed her hands on the man’s shoulders, “The workshop is down the hall and it’s the last door you’ll see. Hurry, Lieutenant, I don’t know what he’ll do to Connor.”

 

Hank didn’t need to be told twice. As he made his way through the house, he gave himself the mental kicking of a lifetime. How could he have ignored Kamski’s scheming nature? Was he that desperate to get Connor help that he willingly left him alone?

Hank was that desperate.

He nearly lost Connor that night. And the state that the android had been left in, if they were found by the replacement then surely Connor would be destroyed. Was this any better? To take such a large risk with a man who’s entire existence is shrouded in sketchy mystery? The workshop door was in sight now, Hank did his best to redirect his thoughts to try and have some semblance of a plan to get Connor out of Kamski’s grasp. The man pulled the door open, mouth opened to protest to whatever it was Kamski was doing to Connor. Though what he saw caused his heart to drop into the pit of his stomach.

“Back so soon?” Kamski mused coldly, raising his hands that were stained with blue blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah Kamski, that bastard, gotta love him


	12. Tired of Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't enough that red flags were waving around in Hank's mind, but after his conversation with a distressed Chloe was the only green light he needed to leave. Though as he entered, Kamski's hands are covered in blood and Hank is met with a sight that sent his stomach sinking to the depths. Connor appears to be lifeless with wires strewn all around him. Hank may have been too late.

Hank’s stomach was doing somersaults as he was trying to process what he walked in on. When an android’s body deactivates or enters a hibernation state, it doesn’t slump over like humans do. Instead they are left in whatever pose they were in, limbs rigid and stiff with their face entering a disturbingly neutral expression. Connor’s head was lifted, the typical light in his eye was now a dull glaze of emptiness, he was left staring at the ceiling. The damaged eye had been completely removed, it’s location unknown as there seemed to be various parts strewn around the android. Connor’s arms were reaching forward, posed in a way that he was trying to defend himself from someone. It took a moment to realize, but when it finally hit what was really upsetting was that Connor’s warm beige skin had been deactivated. Hank’s strength wavered in his legs as he took a shaken step forward.

“Wh-” Hank’s words failed to leave his mouth as he could feel a lump forming in his throat. The closer he got the worse it looked. Connor’s chest was open with various wires pulled from places and others being inserted.

“You look worried, Lieutenant. Are you alright?” Kamski asked as he pulled the towel from his shoulder to wipe his hands, the deep blue remained prominent even after wiping the thirium away. His gaze traveled away from the man and back towards the android, a chuckle slipped through his lips. “Oh this? I promise you it looks bad but rest assured, I know what I’m doing.” Kamski remained planted in his spot as the other drew closer. Hank didn’t need a to ask any questions to know that Kamski was caught in the act of doing something incredibly sketchy. As he closed the distance he could see that Connor’s thirium pump and artificial heart were still lit up and pumping. Whether that was better or worse was beyond processing at the time.

“Put him back together.”

“I’ve only just got his arm repaired are you-”

“I said,” Hank’s jaw clenched, “put him. Back. Together.” The words were forced through gritted teeth as the man’s hands balled into fists. Kamski’s head slowly began to tip to the left, a mischievous grin crawling up his face.

“Connor told me that you were attacked by Cyberlife’s brand new deviant hunter. By analyzing his body I would say that you two were _ lucky _ to survive.” Kamski placed a hand on Connor’s shoulder. “I want to make sure he has a better chance. After all,” The man’s eyes lead back toward Connor’s vacant face.  _ “You won’t be there to protect him forever.” _

“Alright.” Hank’s face scrunched up with disgust, the anger he felt overpowered the sickly feeling he had toiling in his stomach. Trained speed triumphed as Hank closed the distance between the two of them, dragging Kamski close with his fists clenching the collar of the other’s shirt. “You’d better fuckin’ fix Connor you self-important asshole before I toss your ass into the fuckin’ lake.”

The air of confidence Kamski carried himself with wavered as Hank’s anger formed like a sword that drove itself through. Kamski knew that Hank was a man of his word, and any threats the man made were promises should he falter. To save himself, he slowly raised his hands in defense.

“Alright Lieutenant.” The younger man spoke cautiously, he felt his heels return to the ground as Hank’s grip loosened on his shirt. He moved with no hurriedness in his actions as he plucked the optical unit from the sea of parts and stuck it back into Connor’s eye socket. Piece by piece he began to restore the android’s innards.

“What the fuck even possessed you to do this to the kid, huh?” The question stumbled out of his mouth, restraint was slipping away from Hank’s clenched fists.   
“Regardless of your feelings towards him, he is still just a machine.” Kamski retorted coldly. “You misunderstand-”   
“I ain’t misunderstand SHIT.” Hank cut in as he took a step towards the other. “You don’t have to take his chest apart to fix a fuckin’ eye and arm!” A desire to know why burned a hole in his thoughts, but at the same time he wanted to just put distance from this place. He watched carefully as Kamski proceeded to carefully remove wires and such, finishing by closing Connor’s chest. Hank stepped forward as the android’s eyes blinked out of sync.

 

The stiffness of Connor’s body was met with rigid movements, sitting upright with his arms lowering and head righting itself. He was greeted by two men standing in his vision, though words began to crawl across his vision, obscuring his view.

 

_ REBOOTING _

_ MODEL RK800  _

_ SERIAL#: 313 248 317 - 54 _

_ LOADING OS… _

_ *(#*(!8uHF*rA9G8(@(@* … OK _

_ CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS… OK _

_ ALL SYSTEMS… OK _

__

As the messages dismissed themselves, the desaturated blues and whites faded to allow the world’s color to reenter. A short breath was taken in as he felt a warm hand clasp his shoulder. His gaze followed the arm to see a familiar face — Hank. Though before he could even question what was happening, he was pulled from the table and onto his feet. Hank grabbed Connor’s jacket and shirt, then began to lead Connor out of the room. Kamski remained still with his hands up, his eyes trailing on the android being dragged out of the room.

_ “My door is always open to you, Connor.” _ Kamski mused between an untrustworthy smile, though he was met by a fierce glare from Hank as the workshop door was slammed behind the duo.

 

There was little explanation as Hank dragged Connor to the passenger seat of the car, accompanying them was a RT600 Chloe who was trying to comfort a very confused ST200 Chloe. Hank wasted no time hitting the road, finding themselves back into long stretches of empty back roads. The rain that had been pouring was beginning to lighten, the gentle pats of rain hitting the car provided a comforting atmosphere. Meanwhile, the Chloes were whispering to each other about their plans now that they were away from Kamski’s place. Connor kept taking side glances at Hank, watching the man’s grip on the steering wheel turn from a white knuckle to a more relaxed single hand. The RT600 Chloe gave Hank directions where they would like to be dropped off, a home that wasn’t too far to travel that was a safe place for deviants to hide. The trip there was shared in a comfortable silence as the tensions were allowed to relax, even if it was only a little bit. Once at the home on the outskirts of Detroit, the RT600 Chloe gave a tight hug to the older man. Parting with a deep thank you and a kiss to the cheek as the two left to the safe house. And with that, Hank and Connor were back on the road again. There was only a few miles shared in silence until Hank spoke up.

“How’s yer arm ‘nd eye?” Hank asked while glancing towards the android.

“I appear to be functional again.” Connor bent his fingers to test them again, the arm was at least usable. “Though I worry what else may have been done to me…” 

His words trailed off as the car moved off of the main road and was heading towards a small lot that was only a small walk away from a massive lake. Connor turned to question Hank, but the older man just exited the car with a huff. The android followed behind the other as they seemed to be heading towards the shore of the lake.

 

The place was desolate, what could’ve been a beautiful scene was instead drowning in deep shades of gray from the stormy clouds above. Artificial lights bathed the walkways in a harsh blue, while the ground remained muted greens and browns. Hank came to a stop at the top of a hill that sloped downward towards the shore of the lake, his hands tucked themselves into his jacket pockets as his breath curled out in front of his mouth as the wind was beginning to pick up.

“What are we doing here?” Connor asked as he began to button up his DPD jacket.

“I would come here a lot, with friends, we’d do all sorts of dumb shit here.” Hank felt the corner of his mouth tug into a smirk for just a moment before it vanished. “Connor,” Even though his eyes remained forward, he could see Connor’s head turned attentively, “he didn’t hurt you... Did he…?” 

Hank’s words tripped over themselves as he was trying to figure out how to word what he wanted to say. While it wasn’t exactly what he was thinking, it was better than dancing around the bush. As Hank looked towards the android, he could see the distress hit and shatter the facade of calmness. When Connor didn’t offer an answer he had to take a deep inhale to calm himself.

“We used to also come here to, get shit out of our systems. Yell, throw rocks, break sticks, that kinda shit. I think you… Need a place like this to just, let yourself go.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“Look, kid, I know I haven’t been… I’m not good at the whole…” Hank felt a sigh push itself through his nose. “I’m not always…” He had every start of the things he wanted to say, but couldn’t bring himself to say them. He could feel a lump of guilt form in his throat as he tried to say what he wanted to.

“... Kamski wanted to… See what would happen if he pushed me too far, like the RK900 did.” Connor’s words crawled out of his throat barely above a whisper. “When I reached a critical state… I just remember darkness.” As he talked his arms crossed over his chest tightly in thought, as if trying to hold himself together. “Then I saw Amanda. I saw her in… In the garden I used to visit…” The android took a step away from Hank. “I thought Kamski wanted to help me… Not  _ toy _ with me.  _ How can my creators be so cruel… _ ” 

Connor took only a few steps forward before the strength in his legs failed, falling to his knees as he drew in a deep breath. There was a sudden noise that broke against the howling winds. Someone was yelling, a fierce brokenness carried the sound till it hit the waves of the lake. It took a moment for Connor to realize the source was himself. The sudden eruption soon degraded into weak draws of breath as tears streamed endlessly down his face. A familiar warm hand placed itself on his shoulder, then soon he was enveloped in the same comforting warmth. Hank pulled Connor into a hug as he knelt besides the android. Tears burned the man’s vision as he leaned his head down atop of Connor’s.

 

The world continued to move along while the two sat at the top of the slope, the winds blew across the lake while the rain finally ceased to fall. It seemed that the storm was moving on, giving the two a small and much needed break from the threat of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hank is protecting his boyo, tbh i really enjoy the protective father side of hank, even if hes not so great at the whole speaking part of it.
> 
> also!!! thank you so much for continuing to read and commenting, and the kudos!! much love to ya'll!! <3


	13. [ Intermission ]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ Please Read This because I Love and Care about all of you ]

[[ Hello!

I know that this is a very, odd way to talk to all of you who've been keeping an eye on this story.. But I wanted to let you all know that I _will_ be finishing this. This story _will have an end_ , and after being gone for so long I feel the fire in me again to pick up where we last left off. I wanted to apologize for the intermission existing in the first place because I wanted to begin and end the story in a certain time frame but life sort of... swept me off my feet... Regardless! I want to thank you for reading my first fanfiction and for the kudos and the comments, they mean so much to me and if I could I would hang each of them on the wall!! So, keep an eye out for the next chapter, I hope I can deliver a satisfying end~ And again, thank you for reading this and my story. Safe travels and I hope you all have a blessed day/night!

-Zero ]]


	14. Time Well Spent

Moments like these felt one in a million.

The warmth of Hank’s body was the anchor from being lost to the crashing sea of emotions that the android was feeling. The one that stung the most was the shards of betrayal he felt, the more he asked why the more they sunk in.

 

\---

“Let’s get started,” Kamski mused as he walked towards his desk once again. The tips of his fingers gracefully brushed over a myriad of tools that were splayed on the counter. There were some sounds of clattering and shuffling until Kamski seemed to have found the tools he was searching for. On the screens he entered some new notes that Connor paid no mind to. “Tell me, Connor,” Kamski returned to the slab and placed the various tools down, “how is your relationship with the Lieutenant coming along?”

Connor flinched at the sentence as he almost mistook Kamski for Amanda. He had to remind himself that Kamski had been trained under her and would have a similar pattern of questions for him. Though he replied with a simple pat of his DPD jacket that was sitting next to him.

“I owe him quite a lot for the things he has done for me.” Connor’s head lifted to meet Kamski’s dead set stare. The man merely nodded in understanding as he took Connor’s arm to examine the damage done, then moved to view the eye. And suddenly, Kamski was a lot closer than Connor had been anticipating. As Kamski’s body moved to close the gap between the two, Connor felt the man’s hands snaking down the sides of his torso. They found a resting place just over the android’s gut, pressing lightly onto a compartment that slowly opened. The artificial skin peeled back as the section opened, revealing various blue tubes that transported the thirium throughout the body. “What are you doing?” Connor lifted his arm to wedge it between himself and Kamski, brows furrowed in concern.

“I want to see just how much damage it  _ really _ did to you.” The eager tone came out from hiding behind the velvety disguise. Kamski leaned his head down to peer in, seeing that a tube or two had been punctured, splattering thirium against the inside of the compartment. “If I’m to truly fix you, I need to see  _ everything _ .”

Connor’s face contorted with suspicion. “I don’t believe that’s true.”

“Seeing is believing sometimes. You probably never thought that Cyberlife would be so quick to replace you. Never thought about becoming a deviant. Never thought about,” Kamski managed to slip himself closer to Connor, “what happens after death… It just happens.” For a man who often moves at his own pace, he was quick on the draw to grab hold of the main thirium tube. Connor tried to react by shoving his arms out in a desperate act to defend himself. Though it was too late, as Kamski pulled the connector apart Connor’s body gave an unnatural jolt. “ _ Such is life. _ ” Kamski mused as he tipped the android’s head upward while critical warning signs blared in Connor’s vision. “Now let’s see how broken you really are.”

\---

 

Such is life, that things should happen without a moment to think. Connor began to understand Hank’s habits of drunken nights and somber states of thought. Lost in the whys and hows of it all. Though a familiar grip on his body brought him back from the brink of it all. Connor felt himself rooted to the world again. In this embrace, the questions and doubts couldn’t break the sheer bliss he felt knowing that he had someone watching over him. Someone who, foolishly, would risk life and limb for him. Connor leaned himself closer to Hank’s chest, listening to the steady thumping of the man’s heart.

“Are you,” Hank’s voice croaked from the lump in his throat, “feelin’ okay? Do you wanna go home, kid?”

“No…” Connor spoke in a hushed tone, words burying themselves in the lush of Hank’s coat. “I would like to stay here for now.”

 

It took the two a few minutes to come down from their emotional high, but when they did Hank suggested that they walk to the lake’s edge and skip some stones. As they walked over, Connor made a point to tell Hank that he could calculate stone skipping, to which Hank merely scoffed.

 

Connor tossed a stone across the water’s surface. The two watched as the rock skipped twice before plunging into the lake. Hank’s hum of approval brought a short lived smirk to the android’s face. Though like the rock, his expression eventually sunk, returning to a solemn state as he watched Hank toss a stone. The older man’s rock skipped four times before diving into the depths of the water. Unlike Connor, his throw wasn’t calculated, his stone skipping came from years of practice and a pinch of luck. The android watched as Hank plucked another stone from the lake’s shore.

“Y’know,” Hank started, his voice kept at a low rumble, “I tried to teach Cole how to skip stones. But he’d always find a rock he’d  _ really _ like and never wanted to…” The man’s head dipped down for a moment. “.. Let it go.” His eyes began to study the nearly perfect oval of a rock, the absence of edges made the stone appear almost like an egg. Hank’s gaze remained still as he gently tucked the rock into his pocket, and in doing so felt the familiar ridges of something he had stowed in the pocket.

Connor’s stare had been captured by the lake’s horizon. The wind brushed gentle waves of the lake, creating small crowns of white before melting back to the deep grayish-blue of the waters. Inside of him, he felt a sliver of tranquility as he felt hypnotized by watching the waters dip and curl with the wind. Though the moment didn’t last too long as something glimmering to his side caught his gaze. In the palm of Hank’s hand sat the vintage quarter that Connor often played with. Seeing the coin again brought a slight twinkle to the android’s eye. He took the coin from the man’s palm, running his fingertips across the silvery surface with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“You’d left this on the table a few days ago.” Hank remarked as he bent down to look for another stone. There was a moment’s pause as Connor looked over the coin, then over to the man who was hunting for another stone.

“I could teach you some of the tricks I know. And maybe in return… You could teach me how to skip stones like you do?” Connor asked as he effortlessly flicked the coin between his fingers. Hank’s brow raised in question as he pulled another rock from the shore.

“Oh, what? I thought you could calculate it Mr. Big Shot.” Hank mused as he managed to toss another stone to send it skipping five times before it vanished beneath the water.

“Only to a certain degree, there are a lot of variables that go into calculation. I’m certain I could make it skip at least three times.” Connor pocketed his coin into his DPD jacket for the time being and picked up a stone. As he went to skip it, the stone slipped from his hand and was rocketed into the gentle lake waves. Shock hit his face as he felt slightly embarrassed that he spoke so confidently only to fail to even skip the stone  _ once _ .

A sound broke the temporary silence between the two. It started off quiet, a deep rumble almost. Then it broke out across the waves. Hank was laughing. The man had one of those hardy laughs, the kind that come from the gut. This was the first time Connor had ever heard the man make a sound bigger than a condescending chuckle. For Hank, it was the first time in a rather long time that he had something to laugh about. A few chuckles rolled out of the android as he was given a solid pat to his back.

 

The two continued to stand at the lake shore, trading tips and tricks about their own trades. Each having their own muse as the other struggled to follow. The deep gray palette was melting away as time passed, even the noon sun managed to break through sections of the clouds. Rays of gleaming light shone on the lake like streams of glittering gold against the whispering blue waves of the lake. Hank and Connor took a moment to enjoy the change of scenery from a bench on the walkway.

“Thank you for this.” Connor spoke as he leaned forwards, elbows resting on his knees and his chin rested in his hands. His eyes were scanning the lake’s surface, watching each small wave curl then meld back into the body of the water. “I had a place like this once…”

“Oh yeah?” Hank asked as his head craned back, his sights set on the drowsy grays that were parting just enough for flickers of blue to peek through.

“The Zen Garden… That’s where I would go to retrieve my case files or talk to Amanda about the cases we finished.” The android could still recall the lush greens, the wall of roses, the abrupt white architecture that crawled across the landscape. His voice drifted off with the gentle breeze that pushed through the park.

“You mentioned her before… What was she?”

“She was Kamski’s teacher, a woman of many talents and high expectations.” Connor’s head lowered so that his hands were cupped over his eyes. “Every time I returned empty handed to her, she would express her disappointment in my failures. And each time I… deviated from my intended mission, the garden would match the instability.” Connor sighed deeply as he lifted his head from his hands. “I’m certain that the Zen Garden was destroyed when I escaped Cyberlife’s attempt at trying to override my control.”

“Huh.” Hank was trying to imagine what it would be like to have an entire headspace like that. From what Connor was saying, it sounded less relaxing than he was picturing. Though Hank’s mind was imagining if he returned to a beautiful garden to Fowler, who would give him the berating of a lifetime for failing to do his job. Perhaps it was for the best that the garden was destroyed.

 

A sharp and sudden ringing interrupted their talk. Hank fished his old school cell phone out of his pocket and answered with his ‘work’ voice.

“This is Lieutenant Anderson speaking.” Hank answered, Connor could see his expression sour in a particular way. Usually it was the kind that he wore when being chewed out by Captain Fowler.

“Yeah-- yeah, he’s here with me right now.” The man’s grip on his phone tightened. “What the fuck do you mean he walked out of the building?! He’s sitting-” Hank spat a curse under his breath before he gave an abrupt goodbye and ended the call.

“Hank?” Connor tipped his head in question, “is everything alright?”

“I don’t suppose you have a twin brother I don’t know about?”

“Well, I would assume every RK800 was destroyed upon their failure to stop the deviants, if that is what you meant to ask.”

“Then we have a problem.” Hank huffed as he sat himself upright, joints creaking and popping as he stood up. “Apparently, Fowler saw you at the office today wearing your Cyberlife get-up, went into the evidence room, then fucked off without sayin’ a word.”

An almost human shudder hit the android’s body. It had to be the next RK900 that was out and about, but this time clothed like a factory new RK800. Connor took a moment to close his eyes, take a single breath, and then stand with Hank. Though Connor was staring at the lake’s waters, Hank could see a look growing on the android’s face. Determination.

“Cyberlife and Kamski are plotting something. Whether together or not, they’re both creating an increasingly dangerous environment for humans and androids.” The android’s words were filled with scorn for the company. “Cyberlife somehow managed to create my superior, and sent it out quietly without any media catching it. How could that have happened?” Connor turned his gaze towards Hank, with everything being so jam packed this week it was hard to try and work up the nerve to go out there again. Knowing that actively trying to expose the two would likely end in a final stand. By either burning out or being destroyed… But Connor, he was  _ made _ for this. Made to solve crimes and save others.

After a moment of thought the android’s brows furrowed with a resolve. “We have to do something about this.”

“Again with this.” Hank huffed, the man had enough of this running around looking for danger. In his heart of hearts he knew Connor was right, but what could just the two of them do against a mega corporation and the callous creator of said corporation? “Kid, I just fuckin’ went to hell ‘nd back in the span of twenty-four hours. I’ve had three hours of sleep. I’m sore. I’m old. And you,” Hank chewed the base of his lip as he met the eyes of the android, “barely made it out last time…” He could see the fear in Connor’s eyes, it was steadily growing behind the faux confidence.

Connor’s arms folded across his chest as he started, “But I-”

Hank put his hands up the moment the other opened his mouth to argue. Giving the two a moment to stand in the silence of the park with only the lapping lake breaking the stillness.

“I know that we have to do somethin’. Believe me, I wanna kick that sack of shit to kingdom come.” His hands lowered to slip themselves into the pockets of his jacket. “But if we’re going to win this fight, we need to take a moment. Or at least me, I need a moment. Or at least a cup’a coffee…”

“You’re right.” Connor’s confession made the other man blink in confusion, as the two seemed to always butt heads about how to do their jobs. “We need a plan, we need people…”

Hank nodded in approval of the idea. Regardless of whether they were going after Cyberlife or the ever illusive Kamski, they were going to need help moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm getting back on the roll and I hope to get this fic moving again!! Thank you to everyone who's been reading, leaving kudos and comments, and just being here! <3 ;w;


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